SWW4
by Demon's Requiem
Summary: It is the year 2200, and virtual reality gaming is now, well, a reality! How will Naruto's life play out if Konoha isn't his home—but rather a virtual reality game? SasuNaru, scifi AU.
1. Getting Started

**A/N: **Welcome to my scifi fic! :D I've always wanted to write one, so here we are haha. As you probably can tell from the summary this is going to be a fic centered around virtual reality gaming (or VRG as I refer to it), and SWW4 is the game. I explain more in the fic, so don't worry :P

SWW4 was inspired by SAO, 1/2 Prince, and other countless fics and books. The idea is all my own, however.

I apologize if I ramble a lot in the fic... Writing in 1st person tends to do that to me lol. I tried.

Rated T for now, rating may change in the future.

**Terms to know:** _Duan _is a form of currency, similar to a US dollar. SWW4 takes place in an AU of today's world, I suppose - the setting would closely be related to Japan, but since I've never been to Japan nor do I live there... it remains placeless :D And yush, **SasuNaru **will be the main pairing.

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**SWW4**

_Chapter One: Getting Started_

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There it is.

Sitting oh-so-innocently on its little shelf, acting like it isn't the last of its kind (for now) and pretending it isn't 3000 _duan. _I lick my lips before literally diving for it, barely feeling the slick box slide into my hands before a horde of screaming, indignant teenagers surround me. _Victory!_

I clutch the box to my chest as I shoulder aside fellow fans who screech as I pass, hands scrabbling for my prize. I vaguely consider sticking my tongue out at them, but in the end I figure I would be more likely to make it out alive if I rein in my more childish tendencies.

By the time I reach the cashier, I'm gasping for air. The mob has quieted, and now they're staring at me unnervingly from behind the red rope that restricts them from going any closer to the cashier, like they're hoping that I'll suddenly change my mind and chuck the box back at them so they could buy it.

Like hell I would.

I'd been saving for this game for half a year, ever since it had come out. It had cost me many hours in which I could've spent hanging out with my friends—fine, _friend_—and lots of sucking up to my boss…who just happened to be the owner of the game store. No, of course I didn't choose to work here just because they sold the very game I salivated after. Of course not.

"Ready to buy it, brat?" My boss stands behind the glowing screen that hangs suspended in the air, hovering. Her arms are crossed over her ample chest.

Not trusting my voice, I merely nod and slowly hand the precious game over. She takes it from me with a smirk and quickly passes it under the screen, which acts as a 'cash register', or so it was called in the past. Nowadays, it's just 'the screen'. My boss taps a few buttons on the screen before passing it back to me, holding out her hand.

"That'll be 3000 _duan_."

I want to cry as I hand over my froggie wallet, which opens its mouth on its own accord as my boss reaches in and extracts the money—in cash, too. Poor Gama-chan is anorexic now. I mourn on the inside as she presses another button and a drawer pops out; my boss stuffs the money inside and grabs a small leather pouch from underneath the desk, depositing my new game inside. She then takes my arm and yanks me around the desk, marching toward the back of the store.

"Wait—where are we going—?" I try to ask.

My boss doesn't answer. Instead, she pulls me into the employee corridor and points to a locked room I've never been inside before in all my months working here. "That room houses a teleporter. We use it for emergencies; I think this case definitely qualifies as one. When news gets out you bought the last, nine-millionth game they have produced, people are going to go wild with desire. I suggest you stay low and hunker down in your house for a few weeks until the rage passes." My eyes open wide at her words, but I don't have time to respond before she's pushing me down the hall and into the room. The last thing I see before the door closes and leaves me in utter silence is her gleaming, honey-brown eyes and the pink curve of her lips.

Then the door shuts.

Distantly, I feel like I can hear the roar of a mob. Shudder, I refuse to let myself consider what would happen if they actually _did _get a hold of me; instinctively, I clutch the leather bag tighter to my chest, wondering what will happen now that I'm inside a teleporter.

I've heard of these devices. A beta version was created fifty years ago, never released to public, and slowly the world forgot about it—that is, until ten years ago when rumors resurfaced about the famed device and how it was circulating in the gaming world. I never would've imagined my boss getting one (they're pretty damn expensive, as far as I know) but… knowing Tsunade, I shouldn't be surprised.

Thoughts vanish from my mind as a sudden humming sound fills the room, far outweighing the noise of the mob and my own breaths. The walls light up neon green around me, pulsing slowly before beating faster and faster. By now, the grip on my leather bag has tightened so much that I'm going to leave permanent marks in it. The humming increases in pitch and for the first time, I wonder about the consequences of a machine like this—has it ever been officially approved by the Government? What if it doesn't really teleport people, just devices like all the other teleportation machines we use in everyday life? This was the first machine to ever claim to teleport people…but what if it would just disassemble me into a million tiny molecules and I would be overrun and tossed apart and forgotten forever about in the fabric of time and space—

The neon light pulses one more time before flickering and shutting off completely. I squeeze my eyes shut as the humming continues, growing louder and louder until I feel like I'm vibrating…

I shoot my eyes open to discover I really _am _vibrating. Barely taking note of my new surroundings, I fumble in my pocket for my phone, sitting up on the couch while doing so. The vibrating stops before I reach it, so I decide to check my phone later and figure out what the hell just happened now.

Apparently, the teleporter works.

Evidently, it also causes you to pass out.

I'm in my house on the living room couch, though I have no recollection of arriving in front of the house, let alone getting here onto the couch. Did someone carry me in?

That question is answered the minute the door connecting the kitchen and the living room whooshes open and in a heartbeat I find myself smothered in red hair.

"Oh! Naruto! You're okay! Do you have a concussion, sweetie? Does your head hurt? Minato! Get some ice! Did you scrape your elbow really hard? How'd you pass out in the first place? And what's this?" The flurry of questions stop the instant she holds up my leather bag. I snatch it from her, hugging it protectively to my chest, wondering which question to answer first.

Most people say I'm a lot like my mother. I talk as fast as she does; I have a short attention span like she does. But this is a little overwhelming—I've forgotten how insane she is when I get hurt. Her overprotective-mother-mode goes into overdrive and my dad and I are left to calm her down, like now.

My dad places a hand on my mom's shoulder, drawing her back. She looks tearfully up at him before sobbing and laughing at the same time. I can't help but laugh at her and slowly my dad joins in until the three of us are in a hysterical laughing fit. Okay, our family might be strange and a little dysfunctional, but we're perfect. I couldn't have asked for more.

Finally, my dad calms down first, wiping his eyes. "I don't know what that was, but… he's fine, Kushina. I'm sure Naruto just…" Then he turns to look at me, the same blue eyes I have turning inquisitive. "Actually, what _were _you doing, Naruto?"

I can't help but grin as the euphoria of my victory finally catches up to me. _I have it! The very game everyone is lusting after is in _my _hands and my hands alone. _The giddy feeling causes words to spill from my mouth.

"You know how I've been working the past half-year, right?" I exclaim eagerly, prying open the leather bag. "Well I've been saving for…wait for it…this!" I whip out the sleek black disk case, shiny and brand new with the words 'SWW4' emblazoned on the front. My mom and dad stare at it blankly. "Don't tell me you don't know what this is! SWW4!" I wave my arms.

"Sorry, kid, we're getting too old for your technology-savvy generation," my dad says, laughing with my mom again. I push out my lips, knowing that it's a lie; they spend their days working for a branch of the Government, which deals in advanced technology all the time.

"Anyway," I continue, my excitement overriding my concern over my parents' distinct lack of gaming knowledge, "SWW4 stands for Shinobi World War IV. You had to have heard of Shinobi World War, right? It came out in... um, what was it? 2198? I think so. Well this is the fourth game of its generation! Most people have it since it came out half a year ago, but…finally…it's mine." I stare lovingly at the shiny case.

"Oh, right!" My mom snaps her fingers, dark blue eyes shining. "Didn't Sakura have one? I remember her coming over a few months ago with some kind of virtual game. You two were so excited over it."

"Sakura!" I gasp, suddenly remembering my promise to call her as soon as I get the game. "Crap, what time is it?" I pull out my phone, which is a slim portable device that's hardly larger than two inches by three. I press the screen and words light up in the air, reading: 'Four missed calls from Sakura; Seven missed texts from Sakura'. I blink and say again, "Crap."

Five minutes later I've hastily bid goodbye to my parents, promising I'll come to breakfast tomorrow and eat well since it's obvious I'm skipping dinner tonight to play SWW4. Besides, it's not like I'm going anywhere for the next few weeks, like Tsunade said—I can already hear the phone ringing in the living room, probably potential buyers. Well too bad. I'm not selling this for a million _duan_, if someone offered.

My door slides shut with a hiss behind me as I fall onto the bed that detaches from the wall, fueled by motion sensors. I'm thumbing through the contacts, pressing buttons that appear in the air; I have a SKX33, which is a pretty old touch-holographic phone. I heard that in the past the most people had were touch screens. Nowadays, those would be ancient—probably relics you could sell to collectors if you had the connections.

My musing is cut short when Sakura abruptly picks up the phone, an image of her floating above the screen.

Sakura Haruno. She's the kind of person who looks like one thing but acts completely different. She seems like the kind of person who would be super-popular and never be friends with a loner like me, but what did you know? One fateful day in art class in high school, we became friends. And I've never regretted it.

It also turns out Sakura's a big gaming nerd like me. She buys all the latest games, and she has instantaneous access to them too, because her dad works for the leading company that produces the virtual reality games (or VRGs). Sadly, none of the VRGs are two-player yet, so whenever she brings new ones over she always lets me try them out before playing them herself. To say the least, watching someone play a VRG is _not _interesting. They basically put the gear on their head, lie down, and appear to be asleep as their mind wanders through the virtual world, leaving any bystanders to occupy themselves until the player awakens.

"Naruto! Did you get it?" Her voice breaks me out of my reverie, eyes excited and bright. I nod, holding up the black box. "Oh my god! Open it! Now! Let me see!"

"You know, you're almost more excited than me," I tease, but I'm opening the box as we speak, carefully sliding my finger along the edge to allow it to read my fingerprint. These days, all the VRGs come in lock-proof cases; you have to have your fingerprint encoded in the game otherwise you can't play, since VRGs are really expensive. That's why Sakura can never loan me games, which was a huge disappointment. But at least I finally have my own!

"Well excuse me for having to listen to you talk about it nonstop for the past month," she huffs, flopping onto her own pink-strewn bed before propping herself back onto her elbows, staring at me. "Have you opened it yet, Naruto?"

"I'm getting there," I mutter, as I finally crack open the case.

For a moment, I'm speechless, allowing myself to fully bask in the glory of having bought the last game available—until they produce more, of course.

Then Sakura ruins it, shrieking so loud that the holographic-noises momentarily distort, replacing her scream with static. I wince, used to my best friend's crazy antics. "Tone it down, Sakura!"

"Sorry," she answers sheepishly, a small smile adorning her face. "Come on, take it out!"

I sigh but follow her demands, running my eyes along the inside of the case. It's cloaked in smooth black velvet, and nestled in the center is a gleaming silver square device. To the right is a pair of black sunglasses; to the left is an earpiece. I lift the three items out carefully, taking in the 'SWW4' written in silver on all three.

"W…what do I do now?" I whisper, hardly wanting to break the delicacy of the moment. VRGs rarely come with instruction manuals, because most of it is self-explanatory. I'm lucky Sakura's here to help me, actually.

Sakura is eyeing the device in my hands, a proud look on her face. "Well, you see the button in the center of the Control?" I nod, setting down the sunglasses and earpiece. "Press it, and a voice will come out telling you what to do. It's easy riding from there."

"So…do I press it now?" Strangely enough, I'm nervous. I'm never nervous when I'm about to play a VRG game, so why now?

"Of course!" There's some rustling on Sakura's side as she momentarily ducks out from her phone's view. She pops back with her own sunglasses and earpiece, smiling. "I'm going to enter now. When you get there, follow what it tells you to do, okay?" She's about to put the sunglasses on when she remembers something, face lighting up. "Oh right! When it tells you to enter a Clan, pick Uchiha, in Konoha. I'm there, so maybe I can pull you some strings and get you to join, right?" She winks, popping the sunglasses on and waving. "Happy gaming!"

The call goes dead.

I sigh again, feeling a little wiped out after talking to Sakura. That's what always happens, so it's no huge surprise. Transferring my attention to the Control, I swallow and lift the device in my palm. It's silky smooth and cool to the touch, about a centimeter thick, and surprisingly heavy. The button in the middle tempts me, and giving in, I press it.

For a second, nothing happens.

Then the world lights up around me in misty green lights, flashing from the Control that's suddenly revolving in the air, hovering with tiny anti-gravity belts. A smooth voice issues from the device, indiscernible between female or male.

"Welcome to Shinobi World War IV, the fourth game of the SWW generation. Please follow my instructions in order to start your gaming experience as quickly as possible." The device stops emitting green light and floats lightly back to my bed, settling on the covers. "First, pick up the Visor. These will serve to provide you the best aesthetic experience feasible. Once you have picked up the Visor, please place them over your ears as you would a normal pair of sunglasses." I pick up the Visor and place them gently over my eyes, feeling a thrill of excitement as the sunglasses mold to the side of my head, cool and unyielding, as if it was made for me. (_I'm really doing this!_)"Next, pick up the Headset. This will send non-damaging brain waves into your nerves to complete the virtual reality experience. Once you have settled the earpiece over your right ear, please say the word 'Begin'."

The voice goes silent as I slide the black earpiece over my right ear, making sure it won't fall off before lying back on the bed—as every gamer knows, lying down on a comfortable surface makes sure you won't wake up with a nasty back cramp, as the case would be if you started playing sitting up.

Finally ready, I take a deep breath and close my eyes, settling into a familiar pattern. In. Out. In. Out.

_Three. Two. One._

"Begin."

Instantly, I'm plunged into the world of SWW4.

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**A/N: **Feedback is much appreciated :)


	2. The Initialization Process

**A/N: **Thank you for reviewing or alerting or faving! I love you all! :)

This chapter might be a little information dense, since I'm trying to explain the VRG. Oh well, I hope it isn't too confusing!

By the way - the country that Naruto and Sakura lives in uses the format for names that the US does (that is, 'First name, Surname'). SWW4 is a Japanese-made game, so it uses 'Surname, First name'. Sakura is a Japanese fanatic, so she likes to use the Japanese way of saying names, while not everyone in SWW4 will use the Japanese way, if that makes sense. (Ex: She'll say "Uzumaki Naruto" while someone, like Kiba, says "Naruto Uzumaki".) Sorry if that's confusing. ^^' I just wanted to make sure you all knew that since it does show up in the next couple of chapters.

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**SWW4**

_Chapter Two: The Initialization Process_

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For a few moments, I feel like I'm falling. Suspended, hovering, _flying._ I keep my eyes closed tight, because I've learned the hard way that any sickness you receive from VRGs usually came from moving too much in this transfer-in-between stage.

Once I feel solid ground under me, I cautiously crack open my eyes, not surprised to discover the Visor and Headset have both disappeared. There is darkness around me, but not for long.

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke bursts in front of me, clearing to reveal a pretty violet-haired woman with dark red eyes. She's obviously a CPU, but I wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to actually be a real person. It's common in this age to have rainbow-colored hair and eyes the shade of blood.

She interrupts my thoughts when she smiles, dimples appearing in her pale cheeks. "Welcome," she says, her voice exactly like the one that the Control used. "I am Kowabaki Nakami, but most know me as the one who created SWW. Unfortunately, I cannot incorporate myself into every single game, so I have instructed a CPU to fill my place for me. Please know I am very grateful to all of you for continuing to play my games, and I hope you have an equally fun time in SWW4 as you did in the earlier generations, no matter what country you are from." She bows, an old custom from Japan, and smiles before waving her left arm to the side, drawing up a glowing list of create-a-character choices. "Once again, I thank you." Nakami vaporizes into the air, a glowing dust of particles left in her place.

I let out the breath I didn't even realize I was holding, slowly wandering forward to the character customization list. It's not like I haven't played any VRG games before. I've played the very first game ever made—Anomalies Six. It was more like a mystery game than anything else, and you rarely got to interact with other players. As more games developed though, the better they became, till you could actually believe that the VRG was your world—which was why it was dangerous sometimes when players refused to leave that world.

Playing a VRG too long can cause severe brain damage, 'non-damaging brain waves' or not, and those players were often shipped to mental institutes after being expelled from the game. I shudder to think about those horror stories (not to mention the actual horror VRGs, which can be frightening; in fact, they hold the highest fatality rate for heart attacks for VRGs of all games).

I shake my head, sighing, before turning to properly examine the list. It's a normal format, beginning with 'Character Choice' and ending with 'Name'. I press on the first tab and a sub-tab extends below it. It reads: Civilian, Medic, Sensor/Tracker, Long-range, Short-range, Animal, and Summon.

I'm assuming everything besides Civilian is a form of shinobi, which means ninja in Japanese. SWW is a mainly ninja-based game, after all, and even though both my parents are from Japan, they failed to teach me anything regarding the nation, much to my disappointment.

I examine the choices thoroughly, ruling out Civilian (really, that must only be there for the older folks and younger kids, because what logical teenager buys a ninja game and chooses not to be a _ninja?_), Medic (because I want to fight, dammit), Sensor/Tracker (as cool as those skills would be, I'm looking for hand to hand combat), Animal (I'm not too fond of them, unfortunately), and Long-range (hand to hand combat, again). I leave Short-range and Summon because let's face it, summons are pretty epic in every game and short-range means hand to hand combat, which is what I want.

And that's when the new choice shows up.

I stare in astonishment as a blinding flash of red light shoots through the black space, causing me to throw up my arms to shield myself from the light. A few seconds later, the light dims, and I lower them to judge just what exactly happened in the last few seconds.

I pinpoint the change in a heartbeat; a new choice has been added to the very bottom of the 'Character Choice' list. It reads in bold black words:

'JINCHUURIKI'.

Blinking, I frown. This is where Japanese would pay off—I have no clue what that means, and since it doesn't have an English translation… I press the little arrow to the side of the tab, looking for more information. All that appears is a paragraph stating how because I'm the nine-millionth player since the release of SWW4, I receive the special privilege of being the ninth jinchuuriki, which causes me to wonder who the other eight 'jinchuurikis' are. There's no further information other than that and a name: 'Kyuubi'.

Deciding that being special is probably better than any of the other choices (why else would they present the opportunity?), I select jinchuuriki. Hopefully I still had epic powers; being the nine millionth player had to account for something, right?

I move on to the other choices, selecting blond for my hair color and a crystalline blue for my eyes, to try and make it as alike to my real self as possible—it's not only me that does that in games though. Lots of other people simulate their true selves as well, because of the off chance that they might meet a fellow gamer in reality. It's the fun aspect of playing VRGs, just like using your actual name as your gamer ID.

I pick my clothes next. They have a wide variety of 'beginner ninja gear' available, mostly just plain shirts, average pants, and some open-toed sandal-boots. I pick a pair of orange pants and an orange-and-black jacket. (So what if I like orange? It's a beautiful color.) For ninja tools, they only have a few options, so I equip myself with something called 'kunai' and a set of 'shuriken'. SWW4 is actually a classic MMORPG in disguise – collecting XP points, leveling up, getting items, all as the game progresses – which explains the advanced create-a-character setup.

Then comes the customization tab. I love this option—it's what truly makes you stand out. Some games come with wings or tails or even ears and others with claws and fangs. SWW4 is no exception. I see choices with six arms, two heads, mouths in your hands, stitches, and of course, the classic tattoos. I'm flipping through them when something catches my eye: it's a pair of whiskers, three on each side of the face, reminding me of a fox or a cat. How cool would that be? Ears are over-the-top, in my opinion, but whiskers…whiskers are free game.

I select the whiskers and move onto the final tab: 'Name'. This part is where SWW differentiates from all the other VRGs so far. For some strange reason, Kowabaki Nakami failed to allow players to choose different names for their alias. I don't mind, since my gamer ID is 'Naruto Uzumaki', which is essentially an alias anyway, because Namikaze is my real last name, but for others it might be a hindrance. Some people don't want their names revealed (for good reason, because there can be some real creeps playing VRGs) but SWW has top notch security, as every buyer undergoes extensive paperwork and identification beforehand. It's a fair trade, in my opinion.

I check that the name reads 'Naruto Uzumaki' (except flipped, because of the Japanese origins) and press the green check mark.

There. I'm done.

I'm ready to play.

In seconds the blackness around me dissolves like Nakami's CPU did, revealing the true world of SWW4.

As always, whenever I start a new VRG, I'm left breathless as I take in the wonder of 4D sensations: smell, sight, hearing, touch, taste. It's all _there. _Tangible. It's incredible.

SWW4 is a masterpiece of a game. The leaves have been crafted down to the last detail, every blade of grass starkly green. The sky is a deep shade of cerulean, too blue to be reality but perfect enough to pretend it's real. A gentle breeze blows through the meadow I've been deposited in, rustling the flowers and the trees around me. All is silent.

I'm about to begin exploring when a mechanized voice hums to life in my ear, the same one that's been talking all along.

"Welcome to the world of SWW4. We are pleased to announce that you are the nine-millionth player since the release of the game. Would you like to receive the basics of the game or begin playing right away?"

"Basics," I answer, still taking in the scenery around me. Exploring could wait a little, I suppose; it's never a good idea to rush headlong into an unknown game.

"Very well." The voice goes silent for a second before starting again: "SWW4 is a world of friendship, danger, and fulfilling your dreams. In this world, items are only available in Hidden Villages. That includes clothing, accessories, and weapons. Money is necessary for buying these items; the money can be obtained by completing missions, either as a rogue ninja or a ninja of a Hidden Village. XP points are gained by each enemy the player fights and successfully conquers. Once the player has gained a certain amount of XP points, he or she may be leveled up by the leader of a group, themselves, or the Kage of a Village. There are also special levels—such as the ANBU Black Ops—which may only be obtained if the Kage of a Village promotes the player to that status. The player may become a Kage if he or she beats the current Kage in a duel. There are healing pills as well as Medics the player can request healing from if the relationship between the two players is strong enough. Dying causes the player to log out and player-killing is strictly forbidden. This information will always be available to you as well as in-depth analysis, and it is located on the main menu. Now would you like to know more or would you like to try fighting an animal?"

My answer is immediate; it's part of the reason why I bought SWW4, after all. "Fight!"

Almost immediately, a rustle occurs in the underbrush before me. I draw out a kunai, holding it by the handle. The metal is cool in my grip, almost familiar. The rustles grow louder and I tense as a mass of squealing pink bristles flings out of the underbrush, the wild boar snorting as it charges toward me.

Automatically I throw myself to the side, avoiding the pig's first attack. I grip the steel tighter and as it approaches again, I grab the kunai with both hands. The wild boar is almost on top of me when I stab down, watching in brutal satisfaction as the pig squeals again and bursts apart in a cloud of pixel-like particles. The blue XP points flow into me, disappearing in my midriff. I pocket the kunai, feeling the burst of energy waning. The best part about fighting-style VRGs is that you get to learn the style of each game separately, because no game is similar. Some use swords, some use magic, some use guns. It's all unique.

The voice buzzes in my ear again. "You may check your XP points, current status, and personal information when you press the air directly in front of your left arm. The only information you are allowed to access from other players' are their status—such as Summon or Animal—and name until they friend you. Would you like to know about battle techniques or begin playing?"

I desperately want to say 'play', but a part of me knows it's wiser to pick battle techniques and hold off for a few minutes. This could mean the difference between being killed within the first five minutes of game-play and possibly be laughed at for the rest of my SWW4 life or actually _winning _at something besides destroying an animated pink boar. "Battle techniques."

"Besides a wide variety of weapons, each player has a specialized chakra, picked at random by the game. There are five categories: wind, fire, earth, water, and lightning. Each chakra setting has different attacks exclusive to the setting, as well as some minor attacks that are used for all players. There is also a choice of being a weapons specialist. Certain modes can be acquired based on your character type, and secrets can be unlocked through playing. Skills are built through training. For more information, visit the Academies in the Hidden Villages. Would you like to begin playing?"

I close my eyes, trying to remember all the information. It's normal for VRGs to have lots of information, and they often have reminders that appear while you play anyway, so it doesn't really matter if I don't get it all now. Grinning, I open my eyes again.

"Hell yes!"

* * *

It's a bit anticlimactic when I'm not allowed to begin playing '_right away_', like I should've been able to. Then again, maybe the next question is just a part of the game. I don't think too much about VRGs, because their logic is often incomprehensible.

"Before we officially begin, please select one choice. This will determine your future in the world of SWW4, and your choice will be final and irrevocable, so do tread carefully. The choices are: Rogue Ninja or Hidden Village?"

I scoff, answering loudly, "Hidden Village." Like I would be a rogue ninja! The whole point of playing SWW4 was to be a hero and make friends, not have everyone _hate _you. Besides, Sakura was in the Uchiha Clan, wherever that was, so my goal was to join up with her.

"Are you sure about this choice?" I affirm my answer. "Which Hidden Village would you like to join? Konoha – Leaf; Suna – Sand; Kiri – Mist; Kumo – Cloud; Iwa – Rock. Changing Villages is permitted; the necessary paperwork is with the Kage."

I bite my lip, briefly panicked. Which Village?! Did Sakura ever say? I throw my memory back.

I vaguely recall something about Uchiha…and with that…something that began with a K. Well, that was unhelpful, considering there were three Villages that began with K's. Konoha? Kumo? Or Kiri? Leaf, Cloud, or Mist? After a moment of internal debate, I decide to go with Konoha, since Sakura seems more like the type of person who would go after Leaf rather than Cloud or Mist. She would say the color of the leaves matched her eyes, anyway.

"Konoha." I desperately hope I haven't made the wrong choice.

"Very well." There is another moment of silence before the voice starts again. "The initializing process is now complete. You will be transported to your new Village promptly. Thank you for your patience and as always, happy gaming!" The voice zips out and I'm thrown, once again, into darkness.

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**A/N: **Sorry that there are some giant paragraphs in there. There's going to be a lot of information in these first few chapters, but after that, they should clear up and the actual plot can begin! Whoo! And chapters will be longer in the future.

Feedback is much appreciated :)


	3. Konoha and Uchiha

**A/N: **Back from camp! Yay! I feel brain dead. Ahhh well at least this was pre-written.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! And special thanks to DSpirit who caught this awkward mistake I made the last chapter lol... it's fixed now. :D As to why Sakura is in the Uchiha clan, well, Naruto needed to get close to Sasuke somehow and Sakura is a fangirl, so. Yeah. (cough laziness cough)

There's still a lot of fat paragraphs in this chapter. Sorry! And if you can't tell from the title, Naruto finally gets to play for realz and Sasuke makes his first appearance...

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**SWW4**

_Chapter Three: Konoha and Uchiha_

* * *

I stumble as I'm transported to what looks like another forest…only this one happens to have a huge gray wall surrounding some of it.

Groaning, I stagger a little to catch myself. I'm still not used to the whole transporting thing, not even in games! And supposedly one of the biggest additions to SWW4 is the whole 'teleportation jutsu', so now I'm going to have to learn that and master it as well. Hopefully it doesn't give me any serious side effects…

Shaking my head, I straighten my back and survey my surroundings. The sky is still that perfect blue, and the sunlight dapples through softly from the trees to shade the ground. I must be close to the Hidden Village of the Leaf if there are this many trees around. Grinning, I feel exhilaration soar from the pits in my stomach and I clench my fists. I'm doing this.

_I'm really doing this._

Adrenaline pumps through my veins and I start running through the forest toward the gray wall, trusting my instincts. Instantly I categorize the differences SWW4 brings from other VRGs and even reality: running is smoother, almost like it takes no effort to glide over the ground at all. My breath barely comes faster despite the fact that I haven't run in months. They must've programmed it so that physical abilities wouldn't be a problem despite the whole 'ninja' thing, which was good foresight on their part, I have to admit. Chakra on the other hand…

I can sort out chakra later, after I found Sakura and got my bearings. I have weeks to play this game, after all, and that's the thought that makes me happier than anything.

I reach the road quickly enough. It's a dirt road, scuffed and clearly worn with countless footsteps. How many had walked along this path already? How many were new like me, excited for a new world, a new adventure, a new _life_? How many were returning from missions or visiting a Village? And most of all—how soon would I be able to do that?

_Very soon, _I promise myself. I've been waiting long enough.

The entrance to Konoha looms just around the bend of the road. I have to pause slightly to take in the large green gates, emblazoned with Japanese I can't read. They look worn and used, but obviously taken care of. It looks like I've picked a good Village.

There are a few people milling around the entrance, mostly on the left. As I approach, I begin to make out their figures: they seem to be ordinary civilians, perhaps merchants, judging by the heavy sacks on their backs and the lack of sandal-boots. I hear one of them laugh loudly before nodding and beckoning for his group to follow, and they set off into Konoha, kicking up dust under their heels. Emboldened, I walk faster, wondering how they'll identify me or what I'll have to do—but it doesn't matter. I'll cross that bridge once I reach it.

Entering Konoha is like entering another world. Another world inside of an already different world, of course, but still…it's like the atmosphere just _shifts _almost imperceptibly but enough to create a telltale difference, humming just under your skin. Maybe that's the chakra inside of me that's reacting to this Village—this feeling of coming home.

I barely manage to take anything in before something crashes into me, soft and pointy all at once. There's a cloud of pink in my vision and I splutter slightly before pushing Sakura off. She's greeted me like that enough in reality that I've come to associate her 'glomps', as she calls them (apparently she learned it in Japanese culture class), with the essential being of Sakura.

"Narutoooo! You're finally here!" she shrieks, grabbing my hands and bouncing up and down. I grin lopsidedly before gently extricating my hands from her grip and take a step back, surveying her. She smiles, twirling in place. "Do you like my ninja outfit?"

"It's very… you," is all I can say, because that's the truth. She's wearing pink and black and _more_ pink, with some symbol on the back of her shirt in the shape of a target. On her feet are knee-high black boots and on her hands scuffed black gloves. Her hair is still the same, as well as her eyes, and as far as I can tell she hasn't added any of the customization options included in SWW4. That doesn't surprise me; Sakura has always been a more ordinary girl, content with relying on her own powers rather than anything supernatural, especially in VRGs.

But what _is _different about her is the headband perched in her hair, glinting silver in the sunlight. There's a strange symbol I can't quite make out etched in the center, and somehow, it fascinates me.

"What is that?" I ask, pointing to the headband.

She looks puzzled for a second before she pats her head and pulls of the headband. "Oh, this? This is a hitai-ate, as they're called in SWW4. Forehead protectors are easier to say, though." Sakura laughs lightly. "They're basically the symbol of our village. As soon as you achieve genin level, you receive one of these to call as your very own."

"Genin?" The word is unfamiliar in my mouth.

"It's… Never mind, I'll explain it to you later. I'll explain everything. For now, let's get you checked in! There's a lot we have to explore!" Sakura grabs my hand again and pulls me to the left, where the merchants had been crowded previously.

I hadn't noticed it before, but tucked into the corner just inside the walls and gates is a little wooden stand, complete with rickety ceiling and all. I notice dubiously that it doesn't look like it could hold a bucket of rain, and hope that this isn't part of 'ninja duty'. Unfortunately, my hopes are dashed, as I see inside of the stand two figures sitting on chairs. One has his feet propped up on the table and the other is flipping through a magazine, looking bored. They look up as Sakura approaches.

"Kotetsu! Izumo!" she calls, dragging me up to the table. "I have a new friend with me today!"

"Oh, so you're that player who bought out the series, are you?" The one with the magazine straightens and sets it down, leaning forward. He has a bandage across his nose and spiky black hair, as well as the same 'hitai-ate' Sakura has. "There's a lot of talk about you, y'know."

"Really?" I laugh nervously, scratching the back of my head. Great. Just what I want, rumors about me before I even begin the game.

"Quit scaring the newbie, Kotetsu," the other one (presumably Izumo) says, elbowing his partner in the ribs. He nods at me in a friendly manner, even though one eye is completely covered by his brown hair. "How do you like SWW4 so far?"

"I love it!" I reply enthusiastically. "There's so many details and it's so realistic and the create-a-character tab was just amazing and I can't believe I'm actually playing—"

"Whoa there, slow down," Izumo says, holding up his hands, a smile on his lips. "Sounds like you're really enjoying it."

"I am!" I'm about to go on when Sakura interrupts, placing both her hands on the table.

"As lovely as it would be to stand here and chat all day, I'm afraid we'd have a very angry group of civilians waiting to get in, and besides, I have to show Naruto around before the sun sets. I'm sure you understand." The look on her face is just a little scary.

Kotetsu appears to think so as well, and without further ado they quickly and efficiently 'check me in' to Konoha. Despite the fact that SWW4 takes place in an alternate universe—advertised to be free of most electronics and modern-day machinery—they have an advanced tablet for noting the traffic flow in and out of Konoha. It's probably safer for the gamemakers that way, so that in case any trouble occurs they can easily find the perpetrator.

Before I know it I'm waving goodbye to them as Sakura tugs me away again, the excitement still bubbling in my stomach. As boring as that desk job seemed, I would be satisfied with it, just because it would mean I was a full-fledged ninja. That's what I want right now, more than anything.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," Sakura says, letting go of my hand so we can walk alongside each other, "but do you want to take a look around Konoha first or join a clan? To be honest, I think that joining a clan would probably be the better option, because there's always time after that to get to the good stuff. Joining a clan also provides you with housing and food, which is always a plus."

"Let's do that," I agree, though my eyes still wander around me. There's just something surreal about actually being here, in this world, in this Village. The birds that fly above seem so natural, and even the trees lining the roads and the grass swaying in the wind seem like they flawlessly belong. The buildings look solid and used, like the ones in reality, and I would've bet anything that had I touched them, they would have felt exactly the same.

_This_ is what I love about VRGs. Not just SWW4, but all of them: the ability to grant you a new life anywhere, and the ability to let yourself get lost in them.

"Konoha's a beautiful place, isn't it?" Sakura's voice is quiet from next to me, and I turn slightly to see her eyes trained on a group of kids that run past us, screaming and laughing. "It's so peaceful. Like you can live out a normal life even while being a ninja. I love that about this game."

I smile and turn my gaze up into the sky. "Yes. It really is a beautiful place."

One I wouldn't mind spending eternity in.

* * *

We reach our destination—wherever it is—soon enough. Sakura allows me to pause to take in the stone walls, not nearly as tall as the ones surrounding Konoha but impressive nonetheless. Every fifty feet, a symbol appears on the wall, some sort of white and red fan shape.

"Is that… graffiti?" I ask doubtfully. Did Sakura involve herself in a bad clan? She didn't seem like the type of person who would do that, but who knew.

"No, of course not, idiot! The Uchihas are a proud, upstanding clan who would never allow such foolishness." The look in her eyes is glowing and strong. I was right; she never would get herself involved in a bad clan. "They're fans, the Uchiha symbol. You'll see once we get inside the compound. They're everywhere."

I nod, taking her word for it, and we approach the entrance to the compound together. There's an iron gate with a lock in the center, and embedded into the lock is the shape of a handprint. Sakura pressed her hand against this shape, and somehow, the door magically shifts open. I follow her in while continuously glancing behind me; what if the door was enchanted and would suddenly run after me and boot me out?

"It's just a simple chakra-activated lock," Sakura says, as if reading my thoughts. "Once you're accepted into a clan, they take a chakra sample and input it into their system so that the gate can recognize you and let you in. Of course, you could always scale the walls, but that's not tolerated very well, and if you're not Uchiha, they'll take you down immediately."

"Territorial, aren't they?" I mutter.

Sakura makes an odd, choked noise next to me. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." I give her a strange look, but she doesn't comment further. Instead, she says, "So, let's tell you a little about the Uchiha, alright?"

"Sure," I answer. The buildings around me look normal, as if we were still in the center of Konoha. There's even a little grocery store squeezed between two houses; probably family-owned, by the looks of it. Even the people look just like the people beyond the Uchiha walls. "Do only those in the Uchiha clan live here?"

"Yup. You can always live outside in Konoha's main residential districts as well, but why do that when they provide free housing for you here? It's a lot easier."

"So where's your house, Sakura? I should visit sometime," I tease, nudging her in the side. She blushes lightly and pushes me.

"Shut up, Naruto!"

I laugh and allow myself to be pushed. I'm not being serious when I imply anything; not anymore, anyway. I used to have the biggest crush on Sakura back in high school, even before we became friends. She would always reject me, though, and one day, when I asked her why, she had simply said, _"You're like a brother to me, Naruto. I can relate to you more than anyone else. Isn't it better that way than to mess things up?"_ After that, it had finally gotten through my thick skull that maybe, she was right, and eventually, I let go. Afterwards, it became a lot easier to hang around her and truly enjoy Sakura's company. If I had messed up with her then and pushed too hard, who knew how I would have ended up today?

"I'll take you there someday," she promises. Her voice grows professional. "Now about the Uchiha: if you're planning on applying, there are certain things you need to know. You're going to have to attend an interview, and depending on who's available, it might be the founders of the Uchiha or someone of a lesser rank. I wasn't interviewed by the founders, fortunately, since they were both away on a mission at the time. And—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I interrupt, "the founders are still alive?"

"Of course. It's only been half a year, Naruto. They're going to be alive," she says, an amused glint in her eyes.

I pout. "I knew that. Be quiet."

She smirks slightly. "Regardless, the interview isn't that scary. It's a bunch of basic questions, and as far as I can tell they only do it to weed out the sucker-ups and liars. As long as you still have that good heart inside of you, you'll do fine." Sakura leans over and pokes my chest. "Now if you do happen to meet the Uchiha brothers who founded the clan, don't be alarmed. They're not that scary, I promise. There's two of them, actually. Itachi and Sasuke. They both have really pale skin, black hair, and black eyes. Itachi is the older one, and he has a ponytail and tear troughs on his face. Sasuke is the younger brother, and he's…"

When Sakura trails off, I glance over. Instantly, I identify that look in her eyes.

She has it, and she has it _bad._

"Mind-meltingly handsome?" I fill in for her, imitating a girl's squeal. "Oh! His eyes are _so_ dark, and his hair is _so _soft. And his shoulders! Oh, his _shoulders_!" I fan myself dramatically, eyes fluttering.

Sakura pushes me again, harder this time. "Oh, stop, Naruto! It's not anything like that! He's shorter than Itachi and they look similar. That's it."

"So you're going to try and tell me that he doesn't have your heart pumping and your knees weak every time you see him?" I turn around and start walking backwards, arms linked cockily behind my head. I know I've struck gold when she flushes harder than before, her face catching a hue bright enough to match her hair.

"No! Well, yes—maybe. Maybe," she mumbles, gaze on the ground. "I don't know."

"Sakura's in love," I say in a sing-song voice, grinning. "In love with Sas—"

She looks up just as I crash into someone, having not been paying attention to where I was going in favor of teasing Sakura. I stumble and lose my balance, almost tripping. "Sorry," I begin, pushing myself away from whomever I crashed into.

"Watch where you're going, idiot," a low voice says. "We don't need clumsy ninjas on top of everything else."

Righteously indignant, I snap straight up and turn on my heels, eyes flaming. "You know what; at least I apologized instead of insulting someone I never met! Is this how the Uchiha clan acts? Maybe I shouldn't join —"

Something hits me _hard _in the arm, and instantly I whimper, forgoing the argument in favor of cradling my now numb limb. Was that…Sakura? _Damn she's scary when she's looking at me like that—what did I do?!_

"I-I'm really sorry about that." She gives a little bow to the stranger. "Naruto's new, so you'll have to excuse him, Sasuke."

Wait.

This was that Sasuke guy?

My gaze snaps back to the stranger in a second, scrutinizing and harsh. Yup, he's got the pale skin and dark eyes and black hair to match Sakura's description. Even though his hair looks like a duck's ass, but that's for another argument. I could even give him the fact that he _kinda maybe sorta _had a pretty face…if it weren't for his bastardly attitude. And he was the founder of the Uchiha clan too—

Shit. My words from before come echoing back at me: _'is this how the Uchiha clan acts?' _

Well. There went my first impression on him.

Sasuke glances frigidly in my direction before turning his gaze back to Sakura. "If he's trying to join the Uchiha clan, you might as well send him back out to Konoha now. We don't need clumsy, brash morons."

"What is _wrong _with you—" I'm cut off with a painful cry as Sakura punches me in the arm again, without even looking, _in the same place. _If this is what being a ninja means…Damn.

"We're both really sorry for bothering you." She bows again. "Please give Naruto another chance. He's a good person on the inside. Really."

Sasuke just looks at her for a long time, so long that even I can see Sakura fidget uncomfortably under his cold gaze. "I'll see."

And with that, he steps around her and begins to walk away.

"W—wait, Sasuke!" Sakura calls, one hand outstretched. He stops, but doesn't turn. "D-do you want to go out to dinner sometime, maybe? Whenever you're free. It can be anywhere you want."

The answer is swift and immediate. "No. I'm busy." Then Sasuke really does leave, disappearing in a poof of smoke.

For a moment, we stand there in a sort of shell-shocked silence. Then I snap, ranting, "Who does he think he is?! Even if he's the founder that gives him _no right_ to go and stomp on your heart like that! In fact, because he's the founder of this stupid clan, he should pay more attention to other people and even if he doesn't want to go out with you, he should at least say so in a nicer way! Not that anyone wouldn't want to go out with you, Sakura, I'm sure it's just because Sasuke's a dick, but also his attitude! If his brother is like that I swear—"

"Stop, Naruto," Sakura sighs tiredly, and turns to face me. Her eyes are dry and strong, and her face is set. "That's just the way Sasuke is. I'm used to it. I don't even know why I bothered to ask, actually. It's always the same answer."

"But—"

"Just drop it." Sakura shakes her head before taking my hand and pulling us along the road again. "Now since you made such a commotion with Sasuke, you better pray that you're not going to have to be interviewed by him. He… he can be a little picky—"

"A little, my ass—"

"—and he wouldn't hesitate to kick you out of the clan. Your commentary didn't help your case either, I hope you know," she says, glaring at me.

This is the gratitude I get for trying to help her! The insanity of love-struck girls can truly confound me at times.

"Fine, fine. If I see him, I'll try and make it up, okay?" I grumble. "Just for you."

"Thanks, Naruto." Sakura smiles a little, and I feel better about the whole Sasuke thing. So what if he was a bastard? I'd just have to deal with it, like I'd done countless others in high school. He couldn't be that different.

Right?

* * *

**A/N: **There will be one-sided SasuSaku, as you can probably tell.

Also, just a warning, in case you don't like Sakura: there will be quite a bit of her showing up in the next couple chapters, since she's the one guiding Naruto around. Rest assured, though, Sasuke will play a very important role mwahahahahaa. :D

Sorry for fat paragraphs. -bows-

Feedback is always appreciated :)


	4. Let Him Be Human

**A/N: **I jammed my finger the other day and typing is now so very painful :'D yay.

Here's chapter four! I'm glad everyone is liking the story so far :) There's some more Sasuke interaction in here and Itachi makes his first appearance as well, whoo! And as always, more information is spewed out in fat paragraphs. Lol.

* * *

**SWW4**

_Chapter Four: Let Him Be Human_

* * *

Sakura deposits me in front of the main building a few minutes later. Apparently she has a mission she's completely forgotten about, and she was about to be late. "Just go in and say you're seeking to apply. Everything should be easy from there. And remember, be yourself, okay?"

With that, she leaves me, leaping easily onto a nearby rooftop and darting off, raising one hand in farewell.

That's where I am right now, staring up at the somewhat imposing structure. It doesn't look any different than the rest of the buildings, actually, except maybe bigger and with the addition of a large, circular Uchiha fan painted smack in the middle. Swallowing, I ascend the short staircase in front of the building and let myself in.

Inside, it's very neat and organized, exactly like something that prissy Sasuke would design. There's a waiting area in the corner as well as some magazines and a table, but no electronics otherwise. Directly in front of me is a counter and behind that is a young woman, lacking a hitai-ate but still looking professional nonetheless. She sees me over the tops of her glasses and looks up, smiling. "Welcome. How may I help you?"

"I'm here to apply for…er, Uchiha clanship?" I try, taking a couple steps forward till I'm in front of the counter.

The woman brightens. "Ah! I see! New faces are always so exciting." She leans over to the side and pulls out a handful of papers from under the desk. "If you would fill these out, please, and I'll go check if there's anyone available for an interview at this moment. On the chance that there isn't, I will contact you for further information. Are you okay with that?"

I nod and grab a pen from the cup on the counter (I haven't used a pen in years—nowadays, everything's done electronically, from paperwork to homework) as she enters a door behind the counter. I fidget as I sit in the waiting area, absently filling in the blanks. Somehow the excitement from entering SWW4 has waned a little, with Sakura gone and leaving me to sit here and fill out paperwork as if for a job.

Frowning a little, I focus back on the papers in my hand. Name: Uzumaki Naruto, as it appeared in this world. Age: 19. Village: Konoha. The one that stumps me is the row of boxes under 'Status (check one)'. No matter how many times I scan the paper, there is no Jinchuuriki option that magically inks itself in; only Medic, Animal, Summon, and so on. Confused, I lift my left hand and make a motion, watching the main menu appear in the air, glowing and transparent. Ignoring the rest of the panels (I can always explore later, I remind myself) I press 'User Info' and watch as a holographic image appears in front of my eyes, floating. It contains all the information I've already recorded on the papers, and at the very bottom I see 'Status'.

Next to it in black is 'Short-Range', and in red, 'Jinchuuriki'.

At this point I have no clue what's going on. Maybe I shouldn't have picked the new choice—obviously it's messing with my game somehow, and I haven't even been playing for two hours! Groaning, I glare at the image containing my information, pulsing light blue as if taunting me. Why Short-Range when I obviously picked Jinchuuriki? I scan over the words again, and that's when I notice the little asterisk placed next to the final letter in 'Jinchuuriki'. I press it simply because I have no choices left, and instantly a new window springs open on top of the old one. It's smaller and it reads in plain font:

_'Because of your special status as Jinchuuriki, it is imperative that you reveal this only to those you completely trust. While you may access other players' statuses and them yours, they will only be able to see 'Short-Range' as your character choice. Jinchuuriki is masked, and the reason for that will be for you to figure out as your journey progresses. Likewise, when filling out paperwork or other necessary items, please remember to fill in your disguised status and not Jinchuuriki. Happy gaming.'_

If only they had mentioned this before, that would've saved me a lot of time, I think exasperatedly before closing the windows. I fill out the rest of the paperwork easily and return to the counter just as the door opens again, and the woman emerges.

She takes the papers from me and makes a signature at the bottom of one of them before clutching them to her chest. "Thank you. Now if you would come this way; we have two people available to interview you. Is that fine?"

"Ah—sure. Two. That's okay." _No it's not_, I want to shout, but I can't say anything as she gives me a reassuring smile and proceeds to enter the door she'd just exited, beckoning for me to follow.

Our footsteps are muffled in the corridor, and she walks with a brisk pace that I have to walk faster to match. The woman forgoes all the other doors in the corridor, and with a sinking feeling, I watch as she stops in front of the biggest door set at the very end of the long hallway. It looks important, and I begin to pray that it isn't Sasuke. _Please _say that it isn't Sasuke.

The door swings open, and for a moment, I'm relieved. As far as I can see, it's just another pale-skinned man with hair pulled back in a ponytail (_Itachi, was it_?) sitting behind a desk… and then, I walk in to see Sasuke lounging against the wall next to a window, staring outside with a bored look on his face.

That same pasty, arrogant, _emotionless _face that I just want to punch through the window.

But since I'd promised Sakura I would try and make it up to Sasuke (depending on if he ever got off his high horse and stopped patronizing me, that is), I have to be nice to him, even if it kills me.

Before I know it, I'm sitting in a chair in front of Itachi with the door closing softly behind us, my paperwork placed in a neat pile on Itachi's desk. I'd been so focused on trying not to send hate-messages to Sasuke through my thoughts that I'd completely missed the whole introductory period, and to my horror, Itachi is looking at me expectantly like I'm supposed to _say something._

Fuck.

"Um…what was that again?" I ask weakly, laughing a little.

"Tch, idiot," I hear from the side. It's quiet, almost silent, but I hear it nonetheless, and immediately any thoughts about peace-keeping vanishes from my mind.

"If all you're doing is sitting by the window trying to get a tan, you might as well go outside," I snap, hands balling up on my knees. I feel satisfied when Sasuke's jaw visibly tenses, though he still doesn't turn to look at me. But I'm not done yet. "And what was that about being _busy_? I doubt trying to get a sunburn is helping your clan very much, Uchiha." I spit out his last name. "You're just an arrogant bastard who can't learn how to act even a little bit chivalrous—"

Finally, Sasuke snaps, and _oh god he looks scarier than Sakura when he's mad_. For a brief second I'm worried for my health (because I could've sworn his eyes flashed red for a moment) before he's turning to Itachi and snarling, "Get him out of here. This is the idiot I told you about—obviously he's proven that he doesn't have the capabilities of being part of the Uchiha clan. Are we done now, Itachi?"

It's then that I realize maybe I really should've made good on my promise to Sakura and not insulted Sasuke – again – because what if Itachi decided to listen to his brother? Who knew if Itachi was just as arrogant and bastardly as Sasuke? There is no way I'm going to live this down with Sakura if I get kicked out now—

"Calm down, Sasuke," Itachi says, and there's this tinge of _something _in his voice that makes me snap my gaze back to him. Instantly, I feel better, because there's a hint of a smile on his lips and even his eyes are warmer than Sasuke's I-will-freeze-over-Hell ones. "I like your spirit, Uzumaki Naruto. And your courage. Answer me one question though: tell me honestly, what do you think your fatal flaw would be?"

He's testing me. I know this, so I actually take my time to pause and think (something Sakura's always complaining that I never do enough of). If I had one flaw, what would it be? Or in other words, what do I value more than anything?

Strangely enough, I know Sasuke's fatal flaw would be pride, and I haven't even known him for an hour yet. It's just the way he is, and the way he's looking at me right now with that sneering, condescending expression on his face proves it all. He doesn't think I can make it.

_I'll show him._

"My fatal flaw is loyalty," I say, still maintaining eye contact with Sasuke, refusing to back down first. His eyes turn flinty. "Loyalty, because I would do anything for a friend, even say the things she won't admit herself. Loyalty, because I trust my friend and believe in her, and she does the same for me. Loyalty, because even though I haven't been surrounded by friends my entire life, I would still do anything for the one that's stayed by my side when I needed her the most." _And you're just throwing her away,_ I add silently.

Then, startled, I realize just what I've admitted. "I—Sorry for bringing my personal life into this," I mutter, turning to look at Itachi again. While it's not an official rule, most don't talk about their real life in the world of a VRG. The point was to escape, after all, not be reminded of your demons.

"You've more than proved yourself, Uzumaki Naruto." Itachi stands and walks around the desk gracefully, far more gracefully than any woman or man I've seen in my life. He extends a hand to me, and I take it and rise. "Welcome to the Uchiha clan. We're happy to have you."

_I'm sure _you _are_, I think dryly, but I can't suppress a triumphant smirk that rises to my lips as I look over Itachi's shoulder and see Sasuke, eyes sparking and furious.

_Naruto: 1. Sasuke: 0._

* * *

After the interview, I'm given a key and directions to my new apartment, as well as a bunch of pamphlets that advertise the Uchiha name. Itachi shakes hands with me one more time and Sasuke leaves without a word; through the window, in fact. Show off.

I can't help but grin as I reach my apartment. There's this feeling of success wrapped around me, like I've accomplished something great. Or maybe it's that feeling of belonging, being part of a clan on my first day here. I only have Sakura to thank for that in the end, so I make a mental note to surprise her with something in reality.

The apartment isn't really anything special. It has three rooms: a bedroom in the back as well as a bathroom, and an open area that was a kitchen and living room combined. The couch looks lumpy and the stove rather cheap, but that's okay by me. I don't plan on _living _here much in the first place; why stay in one place when you have the whole world to explore?

I drop the pamphlets onto the dining table (a rickety structure made of pale wood) and my keys next to them. Frowning, I wonder what I should do next. Waiting for Sakura to show me around Konoha would probably be a good idea, but I have no clue when she'll get back. I sigh and collapse on the couch, which lets out a loud squeal of complaint as I do so. Maybe it would be a good idea to figure out how the whole main menu panel worked, then, and read up on some of the extra information. Knowledge was power, after all.

I draw up the panels again with my left hand. User Info is still at the top, but now that I have time to get a closer look, I can read the other panels below it.

There's 'XP Points', 'Friends', 'Chakra', 'Extra Info and Settings', and 'Log Out'. Pressing XP Points gives me another panel with tabs branching off to 'Current Rank' and 'Current Points'. Current Rank shows nothing, and the options it has (Genin, Chunin, Jounin, Special Jounin, ANBU Black Ops, ROOT, and Hokage) are all grayed out. That must've been what Sakura was talking about before, with the genin and all. Pressing Current Points shows a long, thin bar, and about an eighth of it is filled in with blue. Those XP points must've come from the boar I killed earlier. It makes sense that I would have to reach a certain level of XP points before I can receive a hitai-ate, though gaining enough XP points to reach a genin rank doesn't really seem all that difficult.

Flicking back to the main panel, I press the next option: Friends. It's the typical layout for a massive online connected game, complete with friend requests, sent requests, and pending requests. My friends list is currently empty, so I press the search bar and type in 'Haruno Sakura'. A revolving 3-D image of Sakura comes up and I confirm my request. Hopefully she'll accept it soon.

The Chakra panel is grayed out, just like the Current Rank section had been. Under 'Chakra Type', there's an empty box, as if waiting for me to fill it in, but I have no idea how. The next tab under the Chakra panel brings me to 'Jutsus', which I suppose would be a list of jutsus I've learned. Since I don't have any, it's grayed out as well.

Extra Info and Settings is just what it sounds like. There's about a million more tabs here than all the other options, and I don't have the time to go through them all. Picking a few basic ones though, I scan through 'Time' (apparently, the world of SWW4, like so many other VRGs, is on its own clock: hours run slower here than in reality, which makes it easy to get caught up in playing, and time itself is warped); 'Extended Use' (SWW4 only allows a player to stay active for 24 in-time hours, and then the player's avatar automatically shuts down and enters a phase simulating sleep, which effectively logs you out; on the other hand, sleeping in SWW4 also logs you out); 'Player Killing' (player killing can cause imprisonment in SWW4 or suspension from the game entirely, but only if you get caught); and 'Missions' (missions are run through certain time frames—6 AM to 11 PM—and any opposing forces are usually carried out by CPUs instead of actual players, to avoid player killing).

By the time I'm done with those tabs—not even half!—the sun is beginning to turn the sky orange outside. My stomach lets out a loud grumble and I half-laugh, closing down the menu and sitting up to stretch. There's a sudden knock on my door which makes me jump before I hurriedly run to it and fling it open.

"Naruto! They said you would be here." Sakura's standing in the doorway, grinning, with a plastic bag in her hand. "Congrats on being a true Uchiha member now, by the way. Can I come in?"

"Sure," I answer, standing aside to let her in. I close the door behind her and turn to find that she's already made herself at home, placing her bag of takeout (I'm assuming, since there's some strange addicting smell wafting from it) onto the table and kicking back in a chair. "Do you like my new apartment?"

"It's nice. A little smaller than mine, but it's still very comfortable." She glances around once before springing forward in her seat, back ramrod straight, an excited smile on her face. "So how did the interview go? Who interviewed you?"

"About that…" I begin, sitting in a chair across from her. She raises an eyebrow expectantly at me, and I cringe on the inside. Based on what I've seen of this world's Sakura, I can only pray that she doesn't decide to smack me into a wall for what I'm about to say next. "Well, I had Itachi as one interviewer—"

"That's great! I've heard he's really nice!"

"—and Sasuke as the other."

There's a silence between us for a second before Sakura asks slowly, suspiciously, "…And?"

"Um, I might…have not been very nice to him… Again…" I mumble, staring at the ground. _Please don't hit me, please don't hit me, please don't hit me._

When nothing comes flying my way, I allow myself to look up. Sakura's face is buried in her hands, and her shoulders are shaking slightly. Is she crying? Did I make her _cry _because I wasn't nice to Sasuke? Where is the justice in this world?

I'm about to place a hand on her shoulder when she slaps the table, and I can finally see her face—and no, she isn't crying, she's laughing. Laughing so hard that I think she might break a rib if she doesn't stop soon.

"Sakuraaaa," I whine, withdrawing my hand.

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto! It's just… You've never been _not nice_ to someone before, you know, even in high school, and for you to just not be able to get along with Sasuke…" Sakura gives a little hiccup before she wipes her eyes tearfully. "Ah. Anyway, sorry about that. I guess it's not your fault. He can be a little stubborn. Actually, both of you are, so I don't know how you're not getting along."

"It's just his attitude! It's like he can't help but be a bastard to everyone!"

"Learn to see past the outside," Sakura insists. "There's a reason for everything, you know. You just have to see what it is." Her eyes are serious now.

I have to look away from her gaze, focusing on the white takeout bag instead. _Ichiraku's _is printed on the side in black. "I know. I did it for you, after all."

"You have it in you, and that's what Itachi saw. I told you you're a good person, Naruto." Sakura smiles then, and the strange tension breaks. She pulls the bag closer to her and lifts out two plastic bowls covered with some kind of cap to keep whatever's inside from spilling out. She hands one to me and a pair of chopsticks. "Here's some ramen for dinner. The best in town, according to all the civilians! I know you're probably getting hungry and I just got back from my mission, so I thought we'd have a congratulatory dinner together or something."

I would have answered her, but by then I'd already pulled off the cap and … _Oh god am I drooling? _I can't bring myself to care, though, because the scent is heavenly and even though I have no clue how to use chopsticks I'm fumbling with them so I can hurry and _eat. _The first bite positively melts in my mouth, and I think I let out a moan. What is this? How do we not have this in reality? How?

I finish the first bowl in record time, and letting out an exasperated sigh, Sakura hands over hers. "Are you sure, Sakura?" I ask still with my mouth half-full.

"Swallow, idiot, and of course, since you seem to enjoy it so much." She watches me wolf down her bowl with that same small smile still present on her face. Afterwards, we somehow migrate to my lumpy couch. I feel more content than I've had all year, just from some ramen. "I'm guessing you liked it then?" she asks, her voice lilting.

"Yes. Must have more." I stare longingly out the window, where the sky is starting to lose its orange tinge in favor of deep red and purple.

"It's amazing how complex even taste is in this VRG, isn't it?" Sakura exhales, throwing herself back on the couch so her feet are resting in my lap. "I love it so much."

I can agree with how she feels. There's this sense of attachment to Konoha, and I haven't even been here for a full day yet. It's a weird feeling, but if I have to name it…

I'd say it's the feeling of coming home.

* * *

"So how'd your mission go?" I ask lazily a little while later, still sprawled out on the couch.

Sakura makes a humming noise. "It was fine. Nothing too difficult—just a D-rank one, after all."

"That's right, you never told me! What kind of ninja are you anyway?" I throw a quizzical look at Sakura, who sits upright and pulls her feet from my lap.

"Can't you tell?" she shoots back in return, one eyebrow cocked. "I can see you're a Short-Range, as usual."

"What do you mean, as usual?" I complain, but I let it go in favor of her earlier statement. "How can you tell what status I am if I can't tell yours?"

"It's right here, idiot." Sakura points to a spot next to her head. "Isn't yours—oh, I get it. Your settings must be off still. Here, go to settings on your menu." Once I've pulled up my settings, she leans over and examines it. "Ah, see here? 'Conversation Status' is marked off, but if you turn it on, you'll be able to tell what status I am."

I flick it to the 'on' side, and instantly, I notice the change. Floating just in the top right corner of my vision is a long rectangular box, and on it reads 'Haruno Sakura, Medic'. "You're a medic ninja? Doesn't fit you, I have to say."

Now it's Sakura's turn to be indignant. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing." I smile, eager to not be on the receiving side of Sakura's punches. I don't know how medic equates immense strength, but I don't push it. "Do I see everyone's status like this?"

"Only if you're having a conversation with them. If you're just looking at them, you can't see what status they are. On the other hand, if you're friends, you're allowed to see more than just their status and name." While she was talking, Sakura had pulled up her menu and the Friends panel. "Oh, you sent me a friend request! Perfect. See, once I accept it"—there's a faint pinging noise as she presses 'Accept', and my menu lights up—"now try looking at the status bar."

I do, and I find that it's become larger to accommodate the extra info added. I can see Sakura's age (19 like me), ranking (Chunin), and current team (none). "Can you see mine?"

Sakura nods. "It goes both ways, though I can't see your status bar and you can't see mine." She points again to the empty space next to her head. "It's not like the menu panel where I can see yours and you can see mine, so it's more private."

"Huh." I pull up my menu panel again and press Friends, which had been pulsing on and off as if to remind me I had a new notification. Under 'Friends List', Sakura is now added, and the little circle next to her name is currently glowing green.

"That means I'm online," she says, looking over my shoulder. Turning back to her own Friends panel, she points to it. "See? Ino's online, Kiba's not, Lee is, Tenten is, Shikamaru isn't, Sasuke isn't—"

"You're friends with Sasuke?" Now I'm leaning over her shoulder, peering at the screen. Even Sasuke's thumbnail looks irritated and grumpy. I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that the bastard couldn't smile if he tried.

"Yeah." Sakura blushes slightly. "It—it's just for contact purposes, okay? Because he's one of the clan founders so I have to know if he's around."

"But you're not friends with Itachi," I point out.

She flushes again. "You know what, just don't mention it. Besides, you should really try and get to know Sasuke! So you guys were a bit rocky the first two times you met, so what? The third time is the charm, you know?"

"This again, Sakura?" I groan, flopping back on the couch with an arm crossed over my eyes. "I'm serious when I say this: I don't think I can ever be friends with Sasuke unless he somehow fixes his bastard-ness."

"Give him a chance. Maybe he just had an off day today! Try talking to him again," she orders, prying my arm away from my eyes.

I work up the energy to glare weakly at her. "_Why? _What's the point? I don't care if I'm in good with the founders or not."

Sakura's expression shifts infinitesimally, and suddenly there's something melancholy in her eyes. "It's not that, Naruto." Her voice is soft and almost sad. "It's just… there's something so lonely about Sasuke. Even though he has his brother, he's still so closed off. From the whole time I've been a part of this clan, I've never seen him go out with anyone, male or female, date or not. I just want to see him smile a little."

Despite my best efforts, Sakura's words begin to soften my resolve. She only seals the deal when she whispers, eyes focused on the setting sun outside my window:

"He reminds me of you when we first met. And so that's how I knew that you would understand him, if only you gave him a chance. So just let him be human, Naruto. Let him be human."

* * *

**A/N: **More angsty note at the end? |D Regardless yeah, Sakura's hopelessly in love, and Naruto had a crush on her before but now he just considers her a very important person to him. Yup. And Sasuke is still running around being a meanie.

Next chapter... In which I give Naruto's parents an appearance because they're so adorable, Naruto meets more people, and we learn more about SWW4. As usual. :)

Feedback is appreciated! ^^


	5. Day Two

**A/N: **Life suddenly got kind of busy D: but I'll still try to update weekly. Probably Saturdays or Sundays, from now on... Because we all know that once school officially starts there's no such thing as free time anymore. Guh.

Thank you for all the reviews! :) Here's chapter five!

* * *

**SWW4**

_Chapter Five: Day Two_

* * *

Sakura leaves after a while, when the lamplights are lit and most of the compound has quieted. "I'm going to go back to my apartment and log out. Make sure you're lying down when you log out," she advises, "because if you don't it's just like what happens if you game sitting up. Nasty cramps, trust me."

"Thanks, Sakura," I say, and she seems to understand that I'm not just thanking her for that piece of advice—I'm thanking her for today, for every day, for her friendship, for _her. _She smiles and waves, before shutting the door quietly behind her.

I'm left alone in the odd stillness of my apartment. It seems too silent, and with a shiver, I make my way to the bedroom. I've been playing long enough for the first day, anyway, and I'm starting to miss reality just a little. I lie back on my bed, under the covers for the sake of pretending to sleep, and close my eyes.

When I open them again, I'm back in reality.

The sun is shining too bright through my open window, and I have to cringe before pulling it shut as well as the curtains. I've played through the whole night, it seems, and with a grimace I pull off the Visor and Headset, placing them carefully next to the Control still resting on my bedside table.

I sigh as I stretch, feeling my back pop. At least the benefit of gaming during the night is that you rarely feel tired in the morning, since your body effectively treats it as sleeping.

My phone is lying abandoned among the covers, and I pick it up to check the time. 8:02. Not bad—I gamed for about fourteen hours, considering the fact that I'd started at six last night. The average suggested recuperating time for in between VRGs is only two hours, so after a shower and some breakfast, I should be ready to go again.

Feeling content, I make my way out of bed and slowly amble downstairs to the kitchen. Our little robot cleaner is sweeping the floor of the living room, and it barks out a mechanical _"Watch where you're stepping"_ when I accidentally get too close. Shaking my head, I duck into the kitchen.

"You're finally awake, are you?"

My dad looks at me from over his tablet, holding a cup of coffee in his left hand. He's smiling.

I laugh sheepishly. "Sorry, I kinda lost track in SWW4. It's a little addicting."

"I'm sure you're hungry," my mom sings, turning away from the stove to hug me. "Do you want some pancakes? I think they're not as lumpy this time, and I added the right amount of milk too—"

"Didn't your pancakes give Dad indigestion last time?" I ask dubiously; too late, I spy my dad waving his arms at me frantically, a panicked look on his face.

My mom drops her arms from around me, turning slowly to look at my dad. I can see him wince and scratch his head, a move that I'd inherited. "Um, it's really not what you think, Kushina—"

"You said you _loved _my pancakes!"

"I did! They just didn't…sit very well…"

"Minato!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Mom, your pancakes are burning."

With a cry, my mom flutters back to the stove and desperately fans the pan. My dad and I share an exasperated but fond look behind her back. I will always love my parents, because even though my mom can be quite violent and my dad somewhat scatterbrained, I couldn't imagine living without them.

Not to mention that they both cling onto the old-fashioned way of doing things, despite working for the Government. I don't know anyone else whose parents still cook (or try to cook) them breakfast and do (most) household chores by hand. Besides our little robot floor sweeper, we don't have any other robotic cleaners buzzing around the house. There aren't any automatic food processors or self-cleaning laundry baskets or any of those other cleaning and cooking devices that are so popular today. I guess other families would look down on us and say that we're just clinging to the past, but honestly, I couldn't care less. Living this way is perfect for me. For us.

A few minutes later, I find myself in a seat next to my dad with a heaping stack of pancakes in front of me. My dad has an even bigger pile in front of him, and my mom is hovering over us both with her pan in one hand and a turner in the other, eyes positively flaming.

"Eat. Now." Her voice is sweet, but one glance at her has us gulping and scrambling for the pancakes.

We all know who wears the pants in this relationship.

"I can't eat any more," I complain about halfway through. The pancakes aren't bad, I have to admit, especially for a centuries-old recipe that probably doesn't exist anywhere else except in a library, but after about ten of them… You start to get a little full, you know?

"That's alright, sweetie." My mom sets down her pan and turner to grab my plate.

"Me neither," my dad says timidly, raising his hand a little.

My mom looks at him. "Eat."

He does.

I'm grinning and about to comment when the doorbell rings; it's a clear, bell-like sound that reverberates through the house. "I got it!" I yell as I run out from the kitchen.

I slide to a stop in front of our door. There's a little holographic image that's floating in the air (a live feed from the camera outside), and I can see Sakura reflected in it, eyes bright and impatient.

The doorbell rings again just as I fling open the door. Instantly I find myself with an armful of Sakura, before she's pushing off of me to kick off her shoes and disappear into the kitchen in a whirlwind of pink. "Hi, Naruto!" she calls from the kitchen. "Hello, Kushina, Minato!"

_That's a little late, _I think as I close the door and make my way back to the kitchen as well. I enter to see Sakura calmly refusing pancakes, something I can't even imagine doing. Then I remember Sakura's scary SWW4 persona, and instantly, I can understand how she has the courage to say no to my mother. Apparently scary women think alike.

"I'd eat, but we have to get gaming as soon as possible, y'know!" Sakura links arms with me, smiling, and I notice the bag looped around her back, probably containing SWW4 equipment, knowing her.

"Of course, of course. You and your games." My mom smiles indulgently back. "Have fun!"

"Thank you," she chimes before pulling me from the kitchen. As we ascend the stairs leading to my room, she whispers, "I think your mom likes me."

"That's because you're my friend." I knock into her on purpose, and she shoves me back, though it lacks the force of her character in SWW4.

"Still," Sakura insists as we make it to my bedroom. "You'd think she'd be more wary about letting a girl go into her son's bedroom all day."

"She knows I'm too scared of her to try anything," I mutter, "and besides…I made it clear long ago that you were my friend and nothing else."

Sakura's silent for a moment as she dumps her bag onto my bed and flops onto it, staring out the window. When she speaks, her voice is almost shy. "I'm sorry for that."

"For what?" I sit next to her.

"For not liking you back. You're such a good person, Naruto, and you don't deserve to be around someone like me." She sits up abruptly, clutching my covers to her chest. "I don't give you everything you need, and I know that. I'm only hurting you—"

"Stop, Sakura." I place both my hands onto her shoulders and stare into her eyes. "Nothing in my life is your fault. In fact, I don't know how I would have lasted without you if you hadn't stayed by my side, if you hadn't been there for me unconditionally. I treasure this relationship, so don't you dare go and try to ruin it now. Okay?"

We lock eyes for a long moment, before she finally swallows and nods a little. "…Okay."

"Now let's get gaming before our whole day is wasted." I lean over and grab my Visor and Headset, slipping them on easily; Sakura does the same. We lie down next to each other on my bed, both of our Controls in our hands. We look over at the same time, and together, we breathe and exhale. "Ready?"

Her eyes are dark behind the Visor. "Set?"

_"Begin!"_

* * *

This time, I'm not transported to a pitch-black create-a-character room. I wake to find myself in a bed, just like the one I'd left, but in a whole other world.

I throw off the covers, feeling slightly disoriented. The sun is slanting through at a different angle than I'm used to, and the atmosphere of the room feels different than my bedroom at home. But—it isn't something I can't get used to. Definitely not.

I wander out to the kitchen area, not feeling particularly inclined to eat after the pancakes my mom had almost shoved down my throat. Should I wait for Sakura, then? Deciding that I really have no choice in the matter, I slouch against the wall outside of my apartment, breathing in the fresh air.

Logically, it makes no sense that despite the fact that only two hours have passed in reality, a whole night has passed here. No sense whatsoever, but like I'd said before—the logic of VRGs are often incomprehensible. Trying to figure it out would only confuse your mind.

"Hey Naruto!" Sakura lands in front of me lightly, voice bright and chipper. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Yeah, long time no see." I snort. "So where are we going today?"

"I was thinking I'd show you around Konoha, outside the Uchiha compound, and explain a little more about how SWW4 works. Maybe we can even get you a D-rank mission or something!" Sakura almost sounds more excited than I am, and I have to laugh at her enthusiasm. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Unfortunately for me, Sakura's definition of 'let's go' entails jumping from the railing of my second-story apartment, landing on the balls of her feet like a cat. Even if my physical abilities are enhanced in SWW4, somehow I still get the feeling that trying her stunt would only give me broken legs. In the end, I take the stairs as Sakura yells impatiently for me to hurry up.

"We have to get your chakra sorted out too," she announces as we walk through the compound. "Moving around the village otherwise takes way too much time."

"So your chakra allows you to jump from buildings and run on roofs?"

"Basically. See, in SWW4, chakra runs alongside your veins. With practice you can concentrate the chakra to different parts of your body, enabling you to jump higher or run on walls without falling. Chakra is also used to activate jutsus. Overuse of chakra can lead to chakra depletion, however, which produces symptoms similar to physical exhaustion but more mentally fatiguing. In serious cases, you can even get hospitalized!" Sakura grins, and I shudder. She sounds way too happy.

By now, we've reached a different set of gates that also lead out of the Uchiha compound. She motions to the handprint embedded in the lock. "You try this time."

I hesitantly place my hand in the handprint, the iron cool under my touch. Nothing happens, and I lower my hand. "Uh…"

"Try activating your chakra this time," she advises. I give her a confused look. "Hmm, how do I explain this? Just think about your chakra buzzing under your skin—I'm sure you can feel it. Now imagine that buzzing sensation collecting in your palm, growing stronger and stronger."

I place my hand back into the handprint and do as she says. For a second, nothing happens. Then suddenly the metal heats under my touch and the doors swing open, and the buzzing in my palm fades.

"It worked!" I pump my fists in the air.

"Your first use of chakra." Sakura smiles. "Now apply that concept to your feet and maybe you'll be able to run on roofs one day."

We leave the Uchiha compound behind with Sakura leading the way. She motions to some of the shops as we pass. "That's a weapon shop. Once you get some money from a mission, we can go get you some more advanced equipment besides your standard-issued kunai and shuriken. Oh right, you receive your weapons holster once you apply to become a ninja." She points to the black case strapped to her leg. "We'll apply once we get to the Hokage tower."

"What about that shop?" I ask.

"It's a clothing store. And that one is a flower shop, and the one after that is a grocery store. There's a ton of civilian-run shops here, and they're all really nice." She waves at an elderly woman who's sweeping the porch of her shop. "Good morning, Yaresa-san!"

I nudge her in the ribs. "San?"

"It's a Japanese honorific. I never thought I'd be able to use it outside of Japanese culture class but it turns out SWW4 is the perfect place to practice!" Sakura squeals, clapping her hands together.

"You're way too obsessed with Japan," I complain; despite my words, I'm already used to her fascination with the country in the east.

"It's not my fault my ancestors were from Japan. And your last name is Japanese too!"

"But that was way long ago, so it doesn't count!"

"You know, Sasuke is Japanese. Like, from present-day Japan Japanese."

"At least you're not hiding the fact that you're totally in love with him anymore," I grumble. I would almost prefer her hitting me over listening to her go on and on and on over Sasuke; but then I remembered just how painful her punches were.

Sakura sighs. "I can never hide anything from you." I'm about to reply when she claps. "We're here! Hokage tower!"

In front of us is a round, red building. A circular sign hangs near the top, and there's another Japanese character printed on it, which Sakura explains to be symbolizing fire, as Konoha is in the Land of Fire. She pulls me inside (thankfully, there's air conditioning).

"See that giant board over there?" She beckons to the wooden board across the room, where a group of Konoha ninjas are already crowded. "That's the mission board. It's separated into four ranks—A, B, C, and D. Genin can mostly on accept D, maybe some C. Chunin, B and C, some A; and jounin can accept all of them. Those are the ranks, by the way; genin, chunin, and jounin. Each time you level up your XP points, you gain a rank. There are also S-rank missions, but those are distributed by the Hokage only, and they're usually given to the ANBU squads or very high-level jounin."

She then points to the door next to the mission board. "That's the acceptance room. Once you've selected a mission, you go in there and based on your rank, it's either accepted or denied. To receive the monetary credit, you must have it accepted, so no running off with a mission that you think you can complete even if it's way out of your league, okay, Naruto?"

"What's that mean?" I put on an affronted look. "I would never do such a thing."

Sakura's tone is disbelieving. "Uh-huh." I try and object (to save some face at least), but Sakura doesn't listen and pushes me across the room to a set of stairs. "This will lead to the Hokage, where we'll have to go to get you applied for a ninja. And—"

A loud shriek cuts her off. "Sakuraaaaaaaa!"

I turn just in time to see Sakura get tackled by a blur of yellow. "I haven't seen you for a week! Where've you been? Oh, and who's this next to you?"

Suddenly the yellow blur is in front of my face, tugging my hair and pinching my cheeks. "Whiskers! Adorable! And he's got blue eyes and blond hair like me!" The girl—I can tell that, at least, from her voice—steps back, and finally stops moving long enough for me to see her face.

Indeed, she has blue eyes like me, though hers are a lighter shade. Her hair isn't as vibrant as mine either, and it's pulled in a long ponytail with one half hanging over the right side of her face. Her clothes are a deep purple; her shirt bares her stomach while her skirt is rather like Sakura's, with a slit up the side and black shorts peeking out underneath. There's a smirk on her lips as she notices me surveying her.

"Like what you see?" she asks, eyes gleaming.

Sakura shoves her. "Don't tease Naruto like that."

"Ooh, what, are you getting jealous? Is he yours? And here I was thinking you'd already claimed Sasuke—"

"Like hell, pig! Sasuke is mine and Naruto is my friend!" If I hadn't already experienced Sakura's blunt refusal many times, I would've been hurt at how easily I'd been shunted aside. As it is, I'm all too familiar with the intensity of Sakura's crushes, so maybe it's a good thing she doesn't like me that way.

"Calm down, geez." Ino backs away slightly from Sakura before looking back at me, a hand perched on her hip. "My name is Yamanaka Ino, by the way, as it's said here in SWW4. Of course, you can probably read it in your conversation box, but still, formalities are always appreciated, right?"

I glance at the box hovering in the corner of my vision. It does say 'Yamanaka Ino', and next to it… "So you're a Sensor type?"

"That's right! Though I've been studying some medical jutsus recently, and in theory my technique is long-range, but it was given to me under the Sensor type, so who am I to complain?" She shrugs, flicking her bangs out of her eyes. "What about you, Short-Range? Do you know any cool jutsus?"

"He just started, Ino. There's no way he's going to have a jutsu under his belt when he hasn't even received a hitai-ate." A lazy, almost apathetic voice cuts into our conversation, and I look past Ino to see a slouched-over boy, about my age, with his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. "I'm Shikamaru."

When he addresses me, the conversation box changes from Ino's information to his. It reads 'Nara Shikamaru, Long-Range'. I glance back at him and he nods, waving his hand a little. "You can read, I'm sure. I don't need to yap on about it like Ino."

"Shikamaru!" Ino shouts, catching him in a headlock. "Chouji! Come help!"

"I'd rather stay out of that, sorry, Shikamaru," says a somewhat larger boy. He has red swirls on his cheeks and a bag of chips in his hand. When he notices me, he holds out the bag. "I'm Chouji Akimichi, Short-Range. Want a chip?" I decline and he takes back the bag, unfazed. "We should get going, though. The mission is starting soon, and we need to meet Asuma. Talk to you later, Naruto!" He pops the last chip into his mouth and throws the bag into the trash before grabbing Ino and Shikamaru by their collars. "Let's go!"

And then the trio is gone.

"Uh…so what was that?" I ask slowly a moment later.

Sakura grins and hooks arms with me. "That, Naruto, was the power of Ino-Shika-Cho." She turns us around and begins to ascend the staircase, leaving me no choice to follow or be dragged along. Sakura's monster strength is not something to laugh at.

"Ino-Shika-Cho?"

"Yup. It's the name of their clan here in Konoha as well, funnily enough. Their parents also joined SWW4 and founded the clan, so naturally they followed. I think they're all friends in reality, but it's only a hunch. Regardless, they're a team, including Asuma-sensei. They're trying to become jounin, you see."

That reminds me of the blank in Sakura's conversation box, next to 'Current Team'. "Why don't you have a team?"

She blushes slightly and turns her face away from me. "What do you think, idiot? I was waiting for you."

"…Oh," I say, a little awkwardly. I should've known. Sakura is that type of person, after all, and that's what I love most about her (in a non-romantic way, of course). "Well then—thank you!"

"It's nothing. Don't mention it," she mutters, but I can see her smile, and that's enough for me.

* * *

**A/N: **Nope. Naruto doesn't like Sakura anymore. Just thought I'd throw that out there once and for all. Because I actually like their platonic relationship quite a bit, so even if it seems kind of lovey-dovey it's not... it's just Naruto being 'you're my most important person because I have no one else' kind of thing. :P

I estimate there being about four more chapters, tops, of explaining the game and introducing characters. After that, Sasuke and Naruto interaction all the way mwahahahaha! (Sorry that it's taking so long for the story to get moving. Describing the future is difficult D:)

Next chapter: Naruto meets Tsunade and she explains more about the jinchuurikis; he also meets Kiba and Hinata and Sasuke finally shows up again! But not really as bastard-like this time! Whoa! :D (Unfortunately it's more like a couple paragraphs than anything else...but at least he makes an appearance.)

Feedback is appreciated :)


	6. A Smile

**A/N: **Well it's a Monday, but you know what. Close enough.

I'm not going to keep SWW4 entirely canon or spend a ton of time on other supporting characters' development, so some of their personalities will already be the way they are currently in the anime/manga. (For the most part.) Such as Neji, though he appears in the next chapter. :P I might explain their past or let Naruto change them a little in the future, but I don't want to spend too much time on other characters when Naruto needs to be busy trying to change Sasuke lol. Oh Sasuke.

Speaking of which, he does show up in this chapter. :D

(And yes, KibaHina is a thing in this fic. Though somewhat onesided for now...)

* * *

**SWW4**

_Chapter Six: A Smile_

* * *

We reach the top of the stairs without further incident, and Sakura leads me down the circular corridor until we reach a door guarded by two ninjas on either side. They look different than the other ninjas I've seen up till now; they have white masks on their faces and strong, sturdy-looking gray ninja gear on their bodies. A sword is strapped to both of their backs, and on each left shoulder is a swirled tattoo.

"We're here to see Tsunade-sama. He's seeking to apply as a ninja," Sakura explains.

One of the ninjas nods curtly and disappears into the room. He reappears a second later and ushers us in, all without a word. Then the door closes behind us.

"Well he wasn't very friendly," I whisper to Sakura.

She pokes me. "They were the ANBU, moron. They're not supposed to talk."

So that was the famed ANBU Black Ops, under the Hokage's direct supervision and part of the few that were allowed to take S-rank missions? I frown. It must be depressing to wear a mask all day.

"Tsunade-sama, thank you for your time!" Sakura is saying. She bows. "I'm here to help Uzumaki Naruto apply for status as a ninja."

I bow too, following Sakura's example, and when I finally look up to take in this 'Tsunade-sama'—the Hokage, strongest ninja in all of Konoha, apparently—all I can see are… breasts. The biggest breasts I've ever seen in my entire life—

Sakura smacks me on the head. "I know what you're thinking, Naruto," she hisses. "Do you want me to smack those thoughts out of your head for you? Because if I won't, Shishou will, trust me. I got this strength from her, after all." She cracks her knuckles, a scary smile on her face.

I gulp and look back at Tsunade, who has a serene look on her face. That sly woman, she probably heard everything Sakura had said and was just playing dumb. Then what Sakura said hits me and I furrow my brows, looking from Sakura to Tsunade and back. "Wait. You got this strength from…Tsunade?"

"Tsunade-_sama _to you," Sakura reprimands, smacking me again. "And yes, she was my teacher. She's the one who taught me medical ninjutsu."

"Wow, you went far in this game," I say, somewhat amazed. Even though I haven't seen much of Konoha yet, I can still tell that the Hokage is an important position—a very important position. And for Sakura to be her _student…_

"Sakura is a very dedicated pupil." Tsunade cups her chin in her hand. "If you can't tell, I'm a medic-nin as well. I wanted to make it clear that just because medics were looked down upon because we can't 'fight', we can still defend ourselves and be a leader. Besides, how else would I have defeated the previous Hokage?"

I swallow. Hopefully she'll never find out that the reason I hadn't picked medic was exactly that.

"Regardless, I've been the Fifth Hokage for a month now. It would be a rewarding job, if only there wasn't so much damn paperwork." Tsunade sighs and looks down at her desk, picking up a set of papers. "Speaking of paperwork, fill this out, brat. Then your application will be complete."

"Brat? Who are you calling a brat?" I snap, but I take the papers from her anyway.

Tsunade smirks, hazel eyes glinting, and suddenly there's a whistling sound in my ear as something shoots past my face. Wide-eyed, I turn to find a pen embedded into the wall behind me, trembling slightly from the force that it'd been thrown. "It's a hundred years too early for you to be talking back to me, but I like your spirit. Keep the pen, _brat_."

I have to pull hard to extract the pen from the wall, and I'm surprised that the point is still intact. Meanwhile, Sakura laughs. "So you approve, Shishou?"

"I do. Seems he matches your description, eh, Sakura?" Tsunade laces her hands together and places her chin on them.

"You were talking about me behind my back?" I complain as I quickly fill out the paperwork. It's similar to the application for the Uchiha clan, so it isn't too hard to understand.

"Sorry, Naruto," Sakura answers, but she doesn't sound apologetic at all. I huff and scrawl out my signature before tossing the papers back onto Tsunade's desk.

"Is that all?" I'm starting to get a little hungry, and that ramen from yesterday is sounding really good right about now. My mouth starts to water just thinking about it, and is there drool coming from my mouth?

"I need to talk to you in private, Naruto. Sakura, if you would step outside—and no eavesdropping," Tsunade warns.

Sakura simply nods. "I'll wait downstairs. Find me when you're done," she tells me, and then she's gone.

I fold my arms across my chest, scowling. Now I have to wait for lunch. "What is it, old hag?"

"Old hag?" Tsunade lifts an eyebrow, and I have to admit, she doesn't look old at all; maybe late twenties, early thirties at the best. But the way she talks (who said she could call me brat?) makes her seem decades older. "You know, in reality, I'm actually in my fifties. But since there's a jutsu in SWW4 that conveniently allows you to hide your true age"—she taps the diamond on her forehead, which I'd originally thought was just part of the character design—"I took advantage of it. Convenient, isn't it?"

Another downside—or perk, depending on how you look at it—of SWW4 is the fact that age cannot be disguised. If you're thirty, you're going to look thirty; if you're five, you're going to look five. The conclusion? Tsunade is a sneaky old hag.

"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about, though." She folds her hand on top of her desk, and suddenly, her eyes are dead serious. I clench my fists unconsciously. "I'm sure you are aware of your status as jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto."

The word surprises me. It sounds different said aloud by someone else, smoother and so much more _dangerous. _It reminds me of just how little I know about this supposed 'jinchuuriki'.

"How do you know that?!" I demand, slamming my hands on her desk.

"Calm down, brat," Tsunade snorts. "There's a reason I'm Hokage. Certain information is made available to the Kages so we can decide how to best apply it for sake of the Villages. And logically, because you are the nine-millionth player, you are the ninth jinchuuriki, just as there are eight before you. You probably have the Nine-Tails inside you, or the 'Kyuubi' as it's called in SWW4."

"Kyuubi? What's that?"

"Let's think of it as a power for now. I can't reveal too much information to you, because this is _your _journey, Naruto. The jinchuuriki is either a gift or a curse. Depending on how you manage the power handed to you, you can beat this game or you can destroy it. I'm sure you know the final objective of SWW4 is to defeat the leader of the Akatsuki, the main CPU opponent. Once you've defeated him, you receive a cash prize in reality and one wish the game can feasibly grant. That is a risky move indeed; should the wrong person manage to defeat the Akatsuki, which is no easy task, the world of SWW4 can crumble around us, trapping us inside. The point of inserting jinchuurikis is to aid those who desire to win. But if there's any selfishness, any greed or hatred in your heart at all, the Kyuubi will consume you entirely. That is the curse of the jinchuuriki—so be careful, Naruto," Tsunade warns.

"And how do I manage this power? How do I know when to use it?" It's all a little too much for me to handle right now. She's saying that I have the ability to defeat the game… just by this strange 'jinchuuriki' option that popped up because I happened to by the nine-millionth copy. It's surreal – almost like it's happening to someone else entirely.

Tsunade sighs, leaning back in her chair and massaging her temples. "I can only say that it will come to you when the time is right. It's a hard and arduous task to conquer the Kyuubi, trust me, but if you manage it, you will be near undefeatable. But for now, don't worry about the jinchuuriki. I know you've just started playing, and I'm sorry for putting such a burden on you right away. There's more I want to tell you, but unfortunately you're going to have to figure it out on your own."

"Thanks, old hag," I answer, with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Always, brat." Tsunade smirks before leaning forward again. "However, I want you to know that just because you're a jinchuuriki doesn't mean _anything. _If you don't want this power, you don't have to have it. I'm not saying ignoring it will be a foolproof method, but if you don't want it—the game isn't going to force you to act upon it. It's all your own choice. Completely. Okay, Naruto?"

_If I don't want it, I don't have to have it?_

The thought flashes through my mind before being chased away. Why the hell would I have picked jinchuuriki if I didn't want all the benefits—and consequences—that came along with it?

I am Naruto Uzumaki, for God's sake, and I do _not _back down.

"Who do you think I am, old hag?" I grin and thump my chest with my fist. "I can handle anything! I'll never run away!"

"Is that your nindo, then, Naruto?" Tsunade raises an eyebrow, a smirk on her lips.

I tilt my head, confused. "What's that?"

"Never mind." Tsunade flaps her hand at me, laughing. "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually. Now get out of my sight, brat! I have things to be doing!"

"Like working on paperwork in a VRG is important," I scoff, but I head towards the door regardless. As I'm about to leave, Tsunade stops me.

"You're…an interesting person, Uzumaki Naruto. I think you're going to handle the Kyuubi just fine." Tsunade smiles at me, and somehow, I feel better about the whole jinchuuriki thing.

"Thanks, old hag." This time, my words are genuine.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get out!"

* * *

After the meeting with Tsunade, I manage to put the jinchuuriki problem out of my mind. Sakura takes me to eat at Ichiraku's for lunch—I officially worship Teuchi for making the best ramen in virtual reality history—and then shows me around the village some more.

"This is the Ino-Shika-Cho compound. And this is Ino's flower shop that her parents opened—she loves working there, but God knows why. Here's the Academy. Younger children like to attend to 'train' to become ninjas, because they're usually too small to leave the Village. It's cute. We even have Academy teachers, like Iruka-sensei! You'll have to meet him someday. He's really nice, as long as you listen to him. Oh, and that's a mini training ground, you see… the real ones are further along. Maybe I'll take you there next time, so we can start learning how to manipulate chakra. You need to level up, y'know. And here's…"

I'm content just listening to Sakura's chatter and watching the expressions that flit across her face. She's happy in this world; it's easy to see why. SWW4 isn't rated as one of the highest quality VRG games for no reason, and that's why it costs a fortune to buy.

Sakura gestures to another walled complex that we pass. "There are a lot of clans in Konoha, and they all have their own compound. This is the Hyuuga compound. They have an alliance with Uchiha, actually, so you might see some of them in the Uchiha compound from time to time. Most of them are quite nice. The founders are these two brothers, Hyuuga Hiashi and Hyuuga Hizashi. Their daughter and son are around our age; Hinata and Neji, respectively."

I squint as I see a figure in the distance, leaning against one of the gates that leads into the Hyuuga compound. There's a huge bear-like creature on the ground next to the figure, white in the sun. "Uh, Sakura…Do you know what that is?"

She looks at where I'm pointing. "Oh! Perfect! We can introduce you to more people!" She waves her arms. "Kibaaaa!"

The figure straightens. "Is that you, Sakura?"

Kiba's features become clearer as we approach. He's tan, like me, with brown hair and sharp black eyes. There's an inverted red triangle on each cheek, and I vaguely remember seeing it as one of the characterization options.

"What are you doing here? Going on a date with Hinata?" Sakura teases as we come to a halt in front of him.

Kiba growls, a rather startling animalistic sound. "Shut up! She doesn't know I like her, okay? And we're going on a mission, thank you very much. I just have to wait for Shino to get his ass here, and then we're going to meet Kurenai."

"I'm not going to tell her, if that's what you're worried about. You're such a chicken, Inuzuka. Man up," Sakura scolds, hands planted on her hips. "She probably likes you too."

"And what if she doesn't? I don't want our relationship to be ruined forever! Plus there's her demon cousin Neji to worry about." He shudders.

"Didn't you _join _the Hyuuga clan to be close to her?" Sakura throws her arms up in the air. "I'm done with you."

Kiba scowls. "You know what—"

A loud bark cuts him off. I look down, startled, and I realize that the sound came from the bear. Or…was it a dog, then? What kind of dog is that huge?

"Down, Akamaru," Kiba says to the dog-bear-thing. Akamaru whines, and paws at the gates. "I know, but we have to wait for Hinata, okay?"

"How is he so big?" I can't help but ask, drawing Kiba's attention to me.

His face lights up when he sees me. "Naruto, right? Sakura's been talking about you for the past week, non-stop! She's insane, but you look pretty chill. Wanna hang out sometime, when we don't have a mission? I'm Kiba Inuzuka, by the way. And this is Akamaru, my dog. I'm an Animal type, so that's why I have Akamaru. He's huge because his breed of ninja dogs are used specifically to overwhelm in battle—if he sits on you, you're going to be squished, trust me!"

Kiba talks _fast_, is all I can think when he's done.

"I think we'll be great friends!" I grin and clap him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, man! Friend me, okay? Oh, there's Hinata! Hey! Hinata! Over here! I want you to meet someone before we leave!" Kiba waves.

A slim, pretty girl steps out from behind the gates. She has long indigo hair, and the strangest eyes—almost white, but with a hint of lavender. When she sees me, she jumps a little. "A-ah, are you Naruto-kun? Sakura-san has been talking a-about you for a while. My name is Hyuuga Hinata, pleased to m-meet you." Hinata gives a short little bow, hands clasped in front of her.

"She's very formal, since she was actually raised in Japan!" Sakura whispers to me excitedly. "I like talking to her because she actually knows what it's like to be Japanese."

"You mean bullying the poor girl?" I raise my eyebrows at Sakura before turning to Hinata. "Hi, Hinata! I'm Naruto. I hope we can all be friends!" I grin at her, and strangely enough, she turns bright red.

"U-uh—Kiba-kun w-we need to g-go! I—I'll see you later!" She grabs Kiba's arm and runs off, Akamaru barking as he chases after them.

Sakura and I stand in silence for a moment before I turn to her, slowly. "Um… Did I scare her off or something…?"

"No, I think that you just happened to be exactly her type. I guess she wasn't expecting that, since she started stuttering so bad!" Sakura begins to laugh. "Kiba, that idiot! He stands no chance now!"

"Do you think it'd be okay if I sent them a friend request? Is it too early for that?" I draw up my menu, navigating to the 'Friends' panel with ease.

Sakura leans over my shoulder. "No, I don't think so. Kiba did invite you to, after all. While you're at it, why don't you send one to Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru? That way you can get to know them better, and we can even go have weekly barbeque meetings!"

"Weekly barbeque meetings, huh…" I mutter as I type in 'Inuzuka Kiba'. I confirm the request and do the same with the rest of the players I've met today—barring Tsunade, of course. She's a little too scary to consider friend-ing. "Can I PM people?"

"Private messaging? Of course. Just click on their ID and it'll give you more information, including a PM option."

"I see." I exit the menu, making a note to look at it later when I'm alone. For now, I smile. "Where to next?"

Sakura proceeds to continue dragging me around the village until sunset. Finally, after dinner (again at Ichiraku's), we return to the Uchiha compound. Sakura stretches as we walk through the streets, nodding occasionally at some of the civilians. Soon, we reach an intersection in the road, and I recognize the street that leads back to my apartment. Sakura points in the opposite direction. "I live over there. Maybe I'll show it to you tomorrow, hm? But I think for today, we're done gaming. Almost a whole day!" She stifles a yawn.

"What time should we meet?" I ask.

"Eh, just rejoin whenever you're up to it. You can find me or I'll find you, it doesn't really matter. Don't game too long, Naruto!" She winks and with a wave, departs towards her apartment complex. I wave back, though she doesn't see, and start heading down the street toward my own apartment.

As I'm walking, the road loops toward the river that runs through the compound and subsequently, Konoha. It's a small river—basically a stream, in fact. I whistle as I walk, and when I glance over to look at the sunset peeking over the horizon, I notice that near the bank—on a small dock—is a figure. It's sitting at the very edge of the wooden dock, one foot dangling in the brook while the other is propped up. I'm about to call out and ask if they're okay when the figure turns abruptly, staring straight at me.

I can't help the grimace that flashes over my face. Of course it's that bastard sitting down there. How did I not recognize that duck-ass hair? He seems to see my frown and scowls as well, eyes glaring at me before pointedly turning away again, ignoring me. So not only is he a bastard, but childish as well? Just perfect.

I snort and stuff my hands in my pockets, determined to walk away and ignore Sasuke. Just as I pass him, though, I can't help but look back again.

_'It's just…there's something so lonely about Sasuke.'_

Sakura's words echo in my mind, and in that instant, with the orange sun streaking gold across his pale skin, dark eyes fixed somewhere in the distance, I can see it.

I can see his loneliness like it's a tangible thing, and it resonates with something deep within me. It's not only me with problems—everyone has them, I have to remind myself. Everyone is hiding a secret, and it's not their fault if it affects their personality as a result. In the end, SWW4 _is _a game—and if Sasuke is here, playing it, he probably has something to escape from in reality. Everybody does.

Maybe I can help him. Maybe he isn't as bad as I think. Maybe…

_'Let him be human.'_

Maybe I should give him a second chance. Or is this the third chance? Regardless, Sakura will be happy to hear of my newfound resolve.

As I walk away from Sasuke, I can't help but smile.

And though I don't know it—Sasuke smiles too.

* * *

**A/N: **So I snuck in a canon moment |D I couldn't resist.

But at least Sasuke made an appearance! Don't worry, he pretty much is here to stay after chapter seven. He can't run away anymore mwahahahaha.

Next chapter: Naruto meets Team Gai, learns even more about SWW4, and levels up to a genin. (Which basically means the fun can begin!)

Feedback is appreciated :)


	7. Leveling Up

**A/N: **Wow, it's been a long time since I last updated. Almost two months ._.' I'm really sorry about that... School just became really, really busy, and I kinda lost the drive for writing for a bit. But don't worry, I should be getting back into the swing of things soon. :) Which means more SWW4!

Thank you to all those who continued to review and fave this story, even though I took so long to update, haha.

Naruto actually levels up in this chapter! :D Which means Team Seven, and that means SasuNaru... mwahahaha!

* * *

**SWW4**

_Chapter Seven: Leveling Up_

* * *

I wake up in reality to find that a whole day has passed.

_So gaming for half a day in SWW4 will make an entire day pass here, _I muse. It's useful knowledge, and I store it in the back of my mind.

"I'll be going then, Naruto," Sakura is saying. She's already packed up her SWW4 gear and her bag is snug against her back. "My parents are probably expecting me home soon."

"Oh, okay. I'll see you later then?" I place my Visor and Headset next to the Control, as usual, and walk Sakura to the front door downstairs. "I think Mom and Dad are both at work today, since it's a workday. I guess I'll be gaming again pretty soon, huh?"

"Ah, I remember the good old days when I first bought SWW4. I spent days absorbed in that world," Sakura says wistfully. "Enjoy it while you can, Naruto." She smirks and pats me on the head before disappearing out the door. I close it behind her, shaking my head. Sakura will never cease to surprise me.

After she's gone, I take a quick shower—intensive gaming is no excuse for bad hygiene, though I suppose I'm not really one to talk. I've gone a whole week without showering before just because I was too immersed in a VRG; I'll never forget the look on my mom's face. I shudder, thinking about it.

Now that I'm clean, my stomach decides to make itself known, growling loudly in the silence. I laugh and wander back downstairs, bypassing our robot cleaner on the way to the kitchen. Knowing my worrisome mother, she probably left something for me to eat—and I'm right. Sitting on the kitchen table is a giant stack of sandwiches, covered in a holographic dome that acts as glass, but without the hassle of taking up space. I press the button on the front and my mom pops up as a miniature 3-D figure.

_"Naruto! I see you've finally ventured out, huh? Well because you skipped lunch _and _dinner"_—here my dad injects a pitiful _"You left me to her cooking!"_—_"I made some sandwiches for you to eat! Make sure you give some to Sakura as well if she's still here. She's such a sweet girl. Otherwise… Don't forget to shower! I don't want you stinking up the house like that one time!" _My mom makes an angry fist at me before grinning. _"Love you!"_

Her image zips out, and the holographic dome collapses into a thin black device. I set it aside for my mother to collect later and pick up a sandwich. At least from the outside, it doesn't seem inedible. That's always a good sign.

A bite proves that my mother, when she really wants to, can cook. I take the whole platter and manage to finish half of it by the time I've ascended the stairs—turns out I was hungrier than I'd previously thought. I check the time on my phone; I have half an hour to go. There are no new messages from Sakura or anyone else, not that I expected any. In fact, besides my parents, Sakura is the only number I have.

For some reason, when I was younger, I never had any friends. It wasn't like I was _hated _or anything, but nobody ever approached me. Thinking back on it now, it probably had to do with the fact that my parents work in the Government, something foreign and taboo to most of the other children. I can't hate my mom and dad for that, of course, but sometimes life just doesn't work out. Luckily for me, after many years of endurance, I met Sakura, and with some persistence on my part—well, that's where we are today. Best friends. I grin and fall back onto my bed, noticing that half an hour has now passed while I was lost in my thoughts.

Unlike real life, VRGs are perfect for making friends. I nod determinedly and place the Visor and Headset over my eyes and ears.

This time, for SWW4, I'm not going to rely on Sakura. I'm going to make my own path, and make friends. I'm going to be _acknowledged—_by everyone, including that Sasuke bastard. I swear it silently to myself.

Then, I let myself get lost in the world of SWW4 once more.

"Begin!"

* * *

The first thing I notice when I reawaken in Konoha is that another night has passed. The reason a night must past so fast here compared to reality, I muse, is most likely because a vast majority of the players log out during the night, and for those other intensive gamers (like me, currently) they can catch a quick two hour break, then dive right back in to SWW4 as if they've just slept a night and nothing else.

The second thing I notice is that there's a persistent but quiet beeping in my ear. Frowning, I draw up the menu. The Friends panel is pulsing on and off, just like it had when Sakura had accepted my friend request two days ago (in-game days, that is).

I press on it, and I discover that miraculously my friends list has grown substantially. Now I have a grand total of six friends, and the green circle is filled next to all of them. _Progress, _I think, and make my way out of my apartment.

Logically it would be easier for Sakura to find me if I PM her, but on the other hand, I want to be able to find my own way around the Village and the compound eventually, so why not start now?

I head down the road towards the intersection where we parted the night before. When I pass the dock extended over the river, I can't help but take a glance. There's a strange rush of disappointment inside me when the dock is empty, looking peaceful and serene in the morning light. Like Sasuke would've stayed here for a whole night—he can't be that stupid.

I scowl and put him out of my mind. First thing first: finding Sakura. Befriending Sasuke can come later.

Once I reach the intersection, I look toward the direction where Sakura had left yesterday. In the distance I can see the pointed roofs of her apartment complex. Even if I managed to find the right apartment, there's no guarantee that Sakura is even home. Maybe I should just explore the village on my own, then. Sakura can find me eventually; she's a full-fledged ninja, after all.

It turns out 'eventually' is in about one minute. I barely take one step outside the Uchiha compound before Sakura is landing in front of me, hands braced on her hips. "Found you!" she calls.

"I was wondering how long it'd take," I admit. "Did you just rejoin?"

"Five minutes ago, actually. All I had to do was locate your chakra signature, and then you're as good as found!" Sakura grins.

I tilt my head in confusion. "Chakra signature?"

"Each chakra has its own distinctive… _feeling_, I suppose. Yours has a surprisingly large presence, actually; the game must've given you a huge chakra reservoir. Lucky." She flicks me in the shoulder and I wince. Even her flicks hurt. "Once you play around with your own chakra a little, you'll see what I mean. It's really easy to find people that way, and convenient to top it off. Plus, if you're _really _skilled, you can even hide your chakra signature!"

"So when can I start?" I demand. At Sakura's perplexed expression, I clarify, "When can I start learning how to manipulate chakra? I have to become the best in the Village!" Sakura looks surprised for a second, and then she's laughing. Loudly. I flush. "What? I'm serious!"

Okay, so maybe what I said about trying to be the best was kind of an impulsive decision, but as soon as I've said the words, I know I mean it. It's not like it's impossible, is it? Besides, I'm the ninth jinchuuriki, so that should count for something! Didn't that old hag from yesterday say that I had a duty to perform? Something with beating the game? And if I become Hokage, then won't everyone acknowledge me?

"You know that means defeating Tsunade-sama, right? Who's even stronger than me?" Sakura cracks her knuckles for emphasis.

I flinch. Well, that isn't very promising, but… "I can do it! Don't you believe in me, Sakura?"

"Sure, sure. If you really want to, you can try." She laughs, and I know she doesn't believe me. I'll show her.

"I'll become the Sixth Hokage! You just watch!" I promise, hitting my chest with my fist.

"Naruto, the Rokudaime Hokage. I can see it now." Sakura's voice still has just a tinge of sarcasm, but I ignore it.

"Rokudaime? What's that—?"

I'm cut off (quite rudely, too) when someone suddenly slams me back against the gate of the Uchiha compound. I cough harshly as the wind is knocked out of me, barely registering the fist wrapped in my jacket. My head is ringing slightly from the force it's been knocked against the metal of the gates.

"What the hell—" My voice sounds strangled.

"Lee! Get off of him!" And then Sakura is prying the crazy maniac who attacked me off, allowing me to slump onto the ground in an effort to regain my breath. "Are you okay? Does your head hurt?"

"It's fine,"  
I say, waving her off and standing up with a slight stumble. I look up to see just who attack me—and I'm blinded by green.

_Green. Everywhere._

I want to cover my eyes, but the sight has already been seared into my brain. Green spandex. Skintight green spandex. _Full-body_ skintight green spandex. And then there's the shiny bowl-cut hair and the huge eyebrows and the round eyes and the sparkling teeth and the—

"My name is Rock Lee!"

Dear lord, even his voice is unbearably chipper.

"I am deeply sorry for attacking you so suddenly, but I must recognize you as my rival in eternal love! Please accept my rivalry!" He stands with one hand tucked behind his back and the other in front of him, palm up, pointed straight at my nose. I take a peek at his face. He's dead serious (or as serious as round, circular eyes can get).

"Uh, Lee, was it? I think…I think we have a misunderstanding. I don't know what you're talking about—" I put up my hands and press back against the metal gate in an effort to get away. It doesn't work, and his bandaged hand inches closer.

"Do you not love Sakura-san? I am under the impression that you two are very close!"

"W-we are close, just not like that. I'm not your rival," I insist. I throw a desperate look at Sakura, only to find that she's _laughing_; deep, suppressed laughs that shake her shoulders as she leans against the wall for support. "Sakura!"

Finally, she seems to get the memo and straightens, wiping her eyes. "He's right, Lee. We're only friends, alright? Just calm down."

Lee seems uncertain, but he lowers his arm anyway. "Sakura-san—"

"What are you doing, Lee?"

Two other ninjas abruptly appear next to Lee. It's a guy and a girl—at least I think so, anyway. The guy has surprisingly long hair, but judging from the flatness of his chest and the glowering expression on his face… I think I'm safe to assume it's a guy. Then I notice his eyes.

"Hey! You! Are you related to Hinata?" I point (somewhat impolitely) at him.

He stares at me in silence for a long minute before nodding once. "My name is Hyuuga Neji. How do you know my cousin?"

"She's your cousin? That's cool! I met her yesterday by the Hyuuga compound! She seems really nice!" I grin.

Neji stares back at me without a word, and slowly, the grin falls off my face. Alrighty then.

"Hi! You must be Naruto. I'm Tenten." The girl on the other side of Lee offers her hand, smiling. I take it, feeling relieved. At least there's someone normal here; and she looks nice enough: there's two dark buns on either side of her head, and her eyes are warm and brown. "I'm sorry for my two teammates. They can be a little extreme." She sighs and shakes her head. "We'll be going now, so we don't waste your time any longer than we already have."

"But I must talk to Sakura-san!" Lee protests.

"You can do that later, Lee. Did you forget that Gai-sensei assigned us training today? What about your five hundred pushups on one hand?"

"Oh! Yosh! I will go complete that now, then! And if I fail, I will go run around the Village five times on my hands alone! Wait for me, Sakura-san!" With that, Lee jumps away onto a nearby roof, becoming a blur of green that quickly vanishes in the distance.

"Sorry about that. He can be a little excited." Tenten smiles. "It was nice meeting you, Naruto! Friend me! Let's go, Neji." And then they both disappear as well, leaping over the rooftops.

After they're gone, I slump back against the wall, feeling extraordinarily tired. "What…was that?"

"Well, that was Team Gai, more or less. Lee can be kind of scary, but he has a good heart. He's just…overly enthusiastic, as you can tell."

"And he loves you," I grumble.

"That too. It's a little bothersome."

I look up and lock eyes with her. "You're totally flattered."

"Like you wouldn't be," she shoots back. "Anyway, Neji probably seemed cold to you, but that's just because you brought up Hinata. He's wary of people who talk about her… kinda like the over-protective older brother, you know? He has a good heart too, even if he does spout some nonsense about fate sometimes."

"Are you friends with all these people?" I drop my head into my hands. "How?"

"It's not hard. You can make friends too! Everyone's friendly in SWW4—"

"Not everyone," I mutter.

Sakura sighs and pulls me up by the arm, ignoring my pained protests. "If you're talking about Sasuke… He's not a villain. How many times do I have to say that?"

_Wait, _I want to say. I didn't mean that—I meant to tell her about my newfound resolve to befriend him and everyone we've met so far, but before I can get the words past my mouth, Sakura is already walking away.

"Come on, Naruto! What are you waiting for? Let's get you leveled up to a genin today, why don't we?"

At her words, excitement thrums through me like an electric current, and I forget all about Sasuke.

"Let's do it!"

* * *

"Becoming a genin is essentially the easiest thing you can possibly attain in SWW4," Sakura lectures on our way to the training grounds. "It's like the first mission of any video game or VRG—you know, how it's always guiding you around with those annoying tutorials, as if you can't figure it out yourself? That's basically what becoming a genin is in SWW4."

"So it's going to guide me?" I ask dubiously. That doesn't sound very appealing.

"No, but that's only because it's self explanatory. You saw how that boar gave you the XP points, right? Before you become a genin, you can only fight game-spawned wild animals. Fighting CPUs or even players, like me, will only get you a penalty; besides, before obtaining genin rank, you can't even get a mission approved. This is the game's way of preparing you for real missions and letting you hone your fighting skills without turning you off on the idea of becoming a ninja entirely. After all, SWW4 _is _a game tailored for fighting. That's essentially the reason why becoming a genin is so easy." Sakura smiles, and there's just a hint of malice in it. "Of course, becoming a chunin like me is far more difficult. It takes training and _dedication._"

"Are you trying to imply something?" I complain. "I passed the Government exam with high marks, you know!"

"That's only because _I _made you study, or else you'd have failed." Sakura snorts.

I pout slightly and cross my arms, glancing to the right. Something red catches my attention and look closer to discover that it's the Academy building Sakura had told me about yesterday. "Hey, hey, can't I just go to the Academy to become a genin?"

Sakura looks over to where I'm pointing. "That's only for the kids too young to leave the Village, remember? Ages six through fifteen are allowed to attend; after that, you have to become a genin on your own. Even if SWW4 is rated Safe for all ages, they don't want the younger kids experiencing violence too early. Remember the controversy with the first SWW? They don't want to repeat that."

"Oh right, they accidentally allowed the younger kids to buy it, right? And back then player killing was allowed, so a lot of them got killed in the game by older players, didn't they?"

"Yeah. The parents didn't like that." Sakura shrugs. "Regardless, it's a lot quicker to just train and level up to a genin in the training fields. You'll see what I mean. In fact, look, we're here!"

We come to a halt just beyond the Academy, in front of a wide white message board similar to the one in Hokage tower. On it is a series of slots, weather-worn and slightly faded. Sakura leans in closer to examine the board.

"Mm, pre-genin training fields are what we're looking for… Ah, the first column! See?" She points to the board. "This is how you read it. There's five columns: pre-genin, all-around (which is for all ranked ninjas), team training, specialized (for the more experienced jounins and ANBUs), and simulations—a mission simulator, essentially. Each training field has customization options that you can adjust at the field to suit your training needs. The rows horizontally are the available fields; there's five of each, so twenty-five fields in total. Right now, three of the pre-genin fields are being used, so I'll just reserve number four for us. Sound good?"

She taps the fourth slot in the pre-genin column, and a screen appears in the air. Sakura types in her name along with mine and hits enter. A second later, the screen folds in on itself and 'RESERVED' appears on the previously blank slot.

"All done!" she announces, brushing off her hands. "Kinda fancy, huh? It's for technical reasons, as far as I can tell. They need to keep track of the amount of genins and trainings and stuff like that."

She leads me down a dirt path to the left of the training board, pointing out the separate trails that branch off every now and then leading to the different training grounds. After about ten minutes of walking, we finally reach the 'pre-genin' section. We turn right, and five minutes later, we arrive at 'Training Ground PG4', as it reads on the wooden sign marking the training field.

"PG4 means pre-genin training field four," Sakura explains. "Our names are under it too so we know which ones we reserved." She steps up to the wooden sign and gestures to a pulsing blue circle on the top right corner of the board. "See this? It's a customization option for the field. Go ahead, press it."

I tap it hesitantly, and immediately, a blue screen unfolds in front of me. There's a variety of options, including General, Terrain, and Opponents. It's a little too much to take in at once, and I'm not quite sure where to look first. Luckily, Sakura's there to help.

"Okay, so for General, just check the box next to your name. That way the game will know who is actually there to level up and who's just a bystander, like me. Then for Terrain… let's just do Normal, because I don't think you're ready for something like Mountainous or Water yet. Opponents will be Wild Animals, although that's already checked for you because you're using the pre-genin field. Um, do we need anything else? Time, check Unlimited. Health, check Medic, since I'm here if you get hurt too badly. Oh! Weapons! Hmm, I think you can get by on Ninja Holster. Unlimited, make sure you check that. Don't want you running out of weapons halfway through. Although you _could _select Taijutsu, I guess, but since you haven't really undergone any formal training I don't think that's a good idea…"

Sakura mumbles under her breath for a few seconds before abruptly shaking her head. "Sorry! It's been a while since I've gone training." She laughs, a little sheepishly. "That should be good for now. After you level up to a genin, remind me to teach you about chakra, okay? That's the fun stuff." Then she grins, sharp and excited. "You ready? Go!"

I press the 'Accept' button, and for a few seconds, nothing happens. Then suddenly Sakura grabs my hand and yells, "_Close your eyes!_" just before the world swirls into darkness around me, heady and dizzying. There's a brief, unsettling sense of falling, before I stumble onto familiar grass and land hard on my face.

"Oww," I moan, rubbing my nose. "That hurt."

"I should've told you about the whole transporting thing," Sakura says, her voice apologetic. She pulls me up with one hand. "I forgot that the training fields are in a whole different dimension, so we need to transport to get there. The gamemakers didn't want to overcrowd the game, I guess. Now buck up!" She slaps my back, hard, and I nearly choke. "Get used to your surroundings and weapons. The first animal should come out in about a minute."

I glare slightly at her before noticing that the conversation box is gone from my vision. In its place is a green bar: HP. It's currently full, and under it is a grayed out bar that reads 'Chakra' on its left. Supposedly that would be the amount of chakra I could use, if I knew how to use it.

I remember Sakura's words about teaching me to manipulate chakra, and I grin. _That's _what I'm waiting for. Becoming a genin—this should be a breeze.

The training field is essentially a meadow, I discover as I survey it quickly. It's almost as if we were transported to the middle of a forest instead of another dimension entirely. I'm about to turn back to Sakura when she swiftly pushes me forward into the center of the meadow.

"Your first opponent is coming! Can you hear that shrill shriek?" She pauses slightly, and it's then that I make out a faint high-pitched squeal. A boar? "That signals the beginning of an attack. Your weapons holster is on your right thigh, so use it, okay? Just fight instinctively; it's okay if your form sucks! I'll be in the trees if you need help!"

Before I can confront her about that 'form' jab—and why would I need help? Isn't this supposed to be _easy_?—something comes rushing at me from the undergrowth.

My breath freezes in my lungs for a long moment, and all I can do is stare as a _giant pig _comes running from the forest, charging headlong towards me with no inclination of stopping anytime soon.

_Runrunrunrun! _a voice inside my head is screaming, but I'm glued to the ground, eyes wide. I can't move to fight or escape even if I wanted to, and inwardly I'm already bracing myself for the pain of impact.

Then Sakura's voice breaks through the reverie in my head, and she's shouting, "Move, dammit, Naruto! Or else I swear to god I'm going to tease you about this for the rest of your life!"

And because I know that, coming from Sakura, it's certainly not an idle threat, something in me propels my right hand to fumble to the weapons holster strapped at my right thigh. I grab the first weapon that I can reach, nearly nicking myself on a stray blade, and fling it at the giant pink thing running towards me.

Surprisingly, it lands, and it hits the boar in the shoulder. The boar lets out a screeching squeal, staggering a little, before swinging its head towards me in anger. The same fear from before is clawing at my stomach again, and not even the adrenaline rushing through my veins can quell it. Suddenly I understand Sakura's warnings—despite the fact that I'm only facing an _animal_, nothing else, it's still terrifying for someone without experience; just like how killing intent, no matter how little, is still killing intent.

So that's the thrill SWW4 brings.

A grin spreads across my face in exhilaration. It's the almost reckless feeling of not-quite-knowing if you're going to live or die, slipping on the edge of survival—that's what makes fighting worth it. And if I can't even beat a _pig_, how can I ever beat Tsunade?

Something slams me in the stomach and I cough, stumbling back a little. While I was distracted, the boar had managed to sneak up on me and land a hit. My eyes flick to the green HP bar; I still have 95/100 left, so it's not too bad.

I shake off the momentary pain and wheel to face the boar again, pulling out two more kunai. The first one misses (and I swear I can hear Sakura laughing at me from the side), but the second one hits home—straight in-between the eyes. The boar lets out another ear-piercing squeal before shaking violently and exploding into the same pixel-particles from before. They flow towards me in the form of blue XP points. The second it touches my skin, a new bar pops up across my vision; now the XP bar is two-eighths full, one from the very first boar in tutorials and the other from my most recent 'kill'.

"That was a lucky shot," Sakura remarks as she approaches from the sidelines. "Not all the animals are going to be that easy to defeat."

"I know; you don't need to tell me that." I shake out my limbs, feeling slightly sweaty from the brief battle. Then a thought occurs to me. "Wait, do I get my weapons back? Or do I have to retrieve them?"

"Since it's set on Unlimited, you don't have to collect your weapons. They'll just automatically spawn every time you use one," she explains. "Convenient, eh? So, besides that, how much HP do you have left?" I tell her, and she nods. "That's good. I won't heal you just yet, then. You can last a couple more rounds at least."

Distantly, a faint shriek picks up again, and Sakura looks up sharply. "Round Two is about to begin. Good luck!" She gives me a little mock-salute and disappears back toward the trees.

I take a deep breath as I turn to face the next animal.

_I can do this._

* * *

Animals two, three, and four are relatively easy to defeat. I suffer a few more bruises and scratches, but nothing severe enough to require Sakura's healing.

Animal number five turns out to be more of a hassle. The boar is bigger than the rest I've faced, and impossibly fast for its huge size. It takes me by surprise the first time it charges, and I lose about twenty HP points from being flung halfway across the meadow. At this point, I have approximately half of my HP left, and I'm starting to feel a little sluggish.

It takes me quite a while longer, but I also manage to defeat the fifth animal. Sakura flutters her hands almost anxiously over me, eyes concerned even as her words are sharp. I brush her away—I still have half of my HP, after all. It's not like I'm done for.

Animal six takes me by surprise as well. It's no longer a boar—rather, it's turned into something resembling a huge, snarling cat. Its stripes vaguely remind me of the beast inside the history books; a tiger, was it? Extinct in the year 2140? Its canines are certainly something to be feared, and it exudes far more killing intent than the measly pig ever did.

Fighting is suddenly infinitely more difficult. The tiger moves fluidly, dangerously, too quick for the weapons to catch it. I manage to hit it once in the paw, but it only roars in anger and slashes me across my left arm. Luckily, it's not my throwing arm, but it still stings like a bitch and the blood that flows from the wound looks disturbingly realistic. I'm distracted for a second, and the tiger lands another strike, cuffing my head. I roll with it and stop with my back to a tree, my head ringing. The tiger is crouched not ten feet away from me, tail twitching slightly, eyes locked straight on mine.

Oddly enough, their intensity reminds me of someone. That same sharp stare, calculating, judging. Only _his_ eyes are black, and the tiger's amber.

Too late, I hear a guttural roar, and I look up to see the tiger coil its muscles and jump in one flowing motion. The paws are outstretched, claws fully extended, and I can only cross my arms over my head when I realize that the tiger has no intention of stopping.

Even a beast, even just a stupid spawned video game creature… this tiger has more power than I do right now.

There's a loud cracking noise and the ground shakes. Body tense, I remain curled up for a long second before I realize that I am not, in reality, being eaten alive. Sakura then proceeds to punch me on the head and even as I cry out in complaint, I can't mask the relief that spreads through me, guilty and poisonous. I'm glad that I didn't have to 'die'. I'm glad that somebody saved me. I'm glad that I'm still _alive._

But nobody is going to save me in the middle of a mission. Nobody is going to save me on the battlefield.

And so I brush off Sakura's hands and stand a little unsteadily. She pleads with me not to fight again till I've healed—the tiger she'd just finished for me, fortunately, counted toward my XP points, meaning I only have one animal left to fight before I officially level up—and to not risk it and to just _stop being so goddamned stubborn for once!_

I pause in my tracks, feeling the ground sway a little underneath my unsteady feet. I have about 25/100 HP left… if even that much. But it doesn't matter. If I'm not reckless and obstinate and impulsive, then what am I? Because that's who Naruto Uzumaki is, I tell her with a grin on my face, and you had better start believing me.

A tiger stalks from the undergrowth again, slinking and quiet. It surveys me for a long moment—before snarling and initiating this final dance of movements and pain and all-too-realistic blood.

Something goes differently this time. I don't know if it's the fact that I just fought a tiger previously, or if I'd merely adjusted to the killing intent, but my head is clearer. I know better than to let my guard down or to take my eyes off of the tiger. I just have to wait for my chance. (I have to prove it to Sakura.)

We each land a couple hits on each other before pulling back and circling, eyes locked. They really do remind me of Sasuke, those eyes; and it makes me want to fight him one day too.

_Maybe I can._

But first, I have to get past this obstacle. I can feel my legs trembling from exhaustion, and my fingers are shaking so badly I can barely grip the kunai in my hand. My heartbeat is loud in my ears, and each time it pulses, little sparks fly in the back of my eyes. 10/100 HP left.

And to think… I've never felt this alive.

Then something snaps into place on the training field, and the tiger is running towards me, two hundred pounds of pure muscle and deadliness. But this time, instead of flinching back, I lurch forward with the kunai still clenched in my hand. Adrenaline is a heady thing, I barely have time to think, before I'm sliding under the tiger and plunging the kunai deep into its soft unprotected underbelly.

The tiger roars once before dissolving into blue XP points that plunge into my torso. I'm almost sad to see it go, despite the fact that it was only ever a game-made creature. I feel like it taught me the first _real_ glimpses of battle—raw fighting, primal instincts, and pure adrenaline.

And then all I see are Sakura's worried green eyes and pink hair, blocking out the rather peaceful cerulean sky. I open my mouth to say something…

But the darkness rushes in, and I'm gone.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks if you read it all the way through :P and still remember what's going on. I'm going to try to update soon, but no promises... I do have a four day weekend coming up, so yay for that.

I've also been writing some other things, like a one-shot called _If I Fall _and a new multichap series called _Seven Days. _I might post them soon, maybe, maybe not. First priority is SWW4 though, for sure.

Next chapter: Naruto is promoted to genin, and who is this he's put on a team with...?!

Feedback is highly appreciated :)


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